Walking into a situation
by FireFlyFlies
Summary: Kaitlinn has a secret she isn't aware of, she is the answer to everyone's problems. There are humans out there who want her dead because of this, but she doesn't know that either. She had a plan, to get the kids to NY safe and sound, but that plan was disrupted by one little arrow. Daryl's arrow. Now will she ever get to NY, and does she really even want to anymore? Daryl/OC
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's note: Hey, this is my first story so please help me. I love the walking dead, and I love Daryl Dixon, hence this story. The first two chapters won't contain a lot of Daryl, but soon he will be joining in. I've decided to start/post a new chapter everytime I get a review, favorite or follower to the story, so please do review and let me know what you think! I would really appreciate it! **_

_**Hope you like it!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my own characters and storyline.**_

Chapter 1

I never liked running. At school I used to think of a million excuses and just hope one would be good enough for me not to have to run. Needless to say I was in a bad mood right now, running down the street. To make it even worse I was being chased by a bunch of undead zombies! Oh wait, zombies are undead so I wouldn't have to call them that.

'Yeah, great time to think about those little details' I muttered to myself, out of breath so it sounded strange.

I rolled my eyes while I said it, not smart. Suddenly I found myself on the ground, pretty sure I'd scraped my arm and was bleeding heavily.

'Fuck' I cursed, scrambling up to my feet and seeing walkers come from every alleyway behind me. I quickly glanced around, trying to find some kind of escape. Instead I found even more walkers coming my way from in front of me, I was being surrounded.

'And then they call them stupid.' I cursed.

Normally _I'd_ feel stupid for talking to myself, but let's just say that 'normal' is something that has left this earth. 'Normal' was waking up to the smell of bacon and eggs in the morning, maybe pancakes. 'Normal' was walking in the park with my dog and smiling at by passers. 'Normal' was thinking zombies belonged in movies, and in my imagination.

'Normal' was not, and I repeat not, waking up and eating a squirrel I'd caught the day before. Or walk in the park with undead people all around you. This situation here, was _far_ from normal.

I took a second to think, looking around and taking in my surroundings. I knew this place well, had grown up here. If I could get through the park I might be able to get to the store I'd been planning on going to. Hopefully without undead encounters. I checked my gun quickly and started running past walkers, making sure they wouldn't get close enough to grab me and if they did shooting them in the head.

I've always had a hate/love relationship with guns, but never as much as today. I had used it already, earlier this morning, which was the reason I was being chased right now, hence the hate part. The love part was pretty obvious as I shot down another walker.

I saw a whole bunch of them in front of me and I cursed under my breath. I saw the picnic table that had somehow trapped them and knew it was drastic, but I was in the need of something drastic right now.

That exact picnic table, also the only picnic table in the park, had been used for many of my mother's family barbecues. I would've never thought I would be jumping on top of one someday, at least not in a sober state. 'Stuntwoman career, here I come.' I said right before jumping on top of the table in a swift movement and practically flying over the walkers gathered around there. So maybe they were stupid, for being trapped by a picnic table, but they had been smart enough to surround me so maybe they were acting?

As I landed in a crouch and quickly got up to continue running, I shook my head. _Damn imagination_ I thought.

You could say I was crazy, my mom rather told me I had a great imagination. An imagination which sometimes could be just a bit macabre. One time I was watching a guy mow the lawn at our school and considering I loved horror movies I started thinking of things that could happen. One of them had been a hand suddenly clawing out of the grass, like a zombie's, how I regretted the thought now.

I seemed to love stories about zombie invasions, but when it was actually happening, not so much.

I glanced back and saw the walkers still behind me, I guess I was lucky. I kept on running, making sure to avoid any other walkers that came my way, or shoot them if necessary.

Like I said before I never knew what to think of guns, until the whole 'end of the world' thing started, that's when I loved them. Guns had been the things that made my father unable to walk, killed my cousin in Afghanistan and destroyed people's lives. Now it was destroying undead people's lives and I loved it. I was a good aim, even after my dad got shot he taught me how to protect myself. It was the one thing I could do with my father to really connect, I had to become good at it. Thank God for that.

I didn't cry thinking about my father, or anyone else in my family. I knew they were gone. Not all of them permanently dead, just the ones I killed myself, but dead anyway.

The moment the store came into view I actually wanted to cheer, but that would've taken time, precious time. I began sprinting even faster, soon running over cars so I wouldn't have to maneuver myself past the cars to get through the street.

The store came closer and I focused on the ground windows to see if they had been broken open by any walker, or human for that matter. I couldn't see anything wrong and, after a quick instinctive glance around, climbed up the drain pipe to the roof of the garage next to the store. I could access the roof in that way and climb through the upper window, which walkers didn't exactly seem to be able to reach.

Inside the store I felt safe for a second, soon dismissing the feeling. I wasn't safe, and if I didn't hurry no one was. I grabbed bottles of water, some cans of food and medicinal supplies. That was about everything the neighborhood store had, the owner wanted it that way. Well _had_ wanted it. I had known him before he died, he was a good man. When someone didn't have the money to pay for the things they needed he'd lend it to them. Everyone thought it had been a shame he died during a robbery a few weeks before the whole walker thing started, I guess that was just God's way of saving the ones who deserved to be saved.

I narrowed my eyes at that thought, thinking of the ones occupying my house now. They hadn't done anything wrong, why should they be left here? Why would God decide these things like this?

'No one ever had answers to life questions Kaitlinn, not even before all this. What makes you think you'd get to the bottom of it all by yourself?' That's what my dad had asked to me when I asked him that exact same question while he was still alive. I'd answered with something that made him mad, probably because it contained God and several swear words. He was religious, I wasn't really. Not after the things I'd seen at least.

I slipped one strap of the backpack over my shoulder and was just about to reload my gun and leave again when something caught my eye. I grinned suddenly and grabbed it, together with a bag I'd noticed earlier. Then I turned around and went back.

The streets seemed to have quieted down now, I guess the aftermath of my gunshot was finally over. This morning I'd been cornered, the damn thing gave me no choice. I had lost my last knife and hadn't really had time to find a weapons dealer somewhere, so I had to do something to survive.

My house came in sight and I saw absolutely no walker around, which was more than weird because there always were a few around. I wondered about it but soon decided to just be happy with it.

I went in and locked the door behind me, nailing it shut with some floorboards and bolt locks. How lucky I was to have my aunt be paranoid of robbers. Well not only me.

I turned around and pulled my bag off my shoulders, 'Ladies and gentlemen,' I said, just a bit louder than I usually talked, not wanting to attract attention of any walker that turned out to still be out there. 'I present you with your early and late birthday presents.'

Three kids came running my way, two boys and a girl. The girl was younger than her two brothers and they were very protective of her, I liked it, it reminded me of my own brother.

'What is it?' The taller boy asked me. He was the eldest of the three, Zayn. His short brown hair had been cut with a knife and it looked like a war was going on on his head. He looked tough and his eyes were a cold ice blue, which is what the zombies did to him, but he couldn't hide the relief of seeing me back, nor the curiosity of what I had with me.

'I heard this morning, from a certain someone's mother, that there was a birthday coming up.' I said. The little girl grinned. She would be 9 in three days, her mother had told me. I'd been surprised she was keeping track, but I guess that's what mother's do, and the girl herself as well obviously.

'I've got something for you.' I said with a smile and pulled my bag off my shoulder, rummaging through it. I looked at her and saw excitement and curiosity reflected in her blue eyes. You'd never say Kirra was Zayn's sister. Not by her blonde hair and not by the warmth radiating from her eyes, but the way Zayn took care of her said enough.

I grinned and pulled out the Barbie doll I'd found in the store earlier. At least I thought it was a Barbie doll, haven't seen one in a long time. It had surprised me, to find it there, but who is there to question God's will, as my father would've said.

Her eyes widened and she reached for the doll, she looked it over and then hugged it close to her chest, 'Thank you Kate, thank you, thank you, thank you!' She chanted, hugging my leg. I smiled and stroked her hair.

'Happy birthday little Kirra. Why don't you go show it to your mother?' She looked at me and nodded, hurrying up the stairs quickly. I smiled at the boys, Zayn looking happy that his sister was happy and Nico looking just a bit sad.

'You didn't think I'd forget you right?' I asked him. His blue eyes, a mix of the cold in Zayn's and the warmth in Kirra's, filled with surprise a second, soon changing into his own excitement. I pulled out a bag of lollipops I'd found as well, knowing he'd love them. He skipped towards me and took them, smiling bright. He nodded once and sped off as well, he wasn't much of a talker. Actually I only ever heard him speak on sentence, 'help my family', which was on the day I found them. He had croaked it more, looking scared and lonely.

His brown hair hadn't been cut with a knife, instead it was reaching his shoulders now. I had tried to but he had started shaking all over. I knew that I would never hold a knife near him again, feeling terrible for making him that scared.

'Thank you Kaitlinn.' Zayn said. He sounded like an adult when he said it like that, even though he was just 13. He always used my full name, I'd gotten used to it by now. Nico was 11 but I knew he would never reach the same adulthood as Zayn had at 13. I felt sorry for him having to grow up this fast, but I knew how it felt too so I knew he didn't see it that way.

I smiled down at the boy, 'I've got something for you too, you know.'

His eyes showed the same excitement as Nico's and Kirra's had done, the excitement of a kid. I threw my bag on the table in the kitchen and went to my father's bed room. It had been moved from upstairs to down after he had been shot, wheelchairs didn't tend to go up the stairs easily.

It wasn't dark around the house, curtains were closed but they let through enough light to see things normally. At night we would turn off all the lights and the kids would head up to their mother's room. Other than being on the second floor, it also had heavier curtains, not letting light shine through and in that way not giving them away. I would be downstairs, guarding the place. Sometimes catch up on a bit of sleep with a small lantern lit.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Zayn following me. I shot him a small smile and gestured for him to sit down on the bed. I went to my dad's closet and picked up the box he still had left from his army time. It was wooden, several complex carvings in it that joined together into an eagle.

'This was my father's.' I told Zayn. He looked at it with wide eyes, interested. 'I know how much you want to fight, and I know your mother tells you you're too young. She might even be right..' I hesitated a second but then decided to go on. 'It's just that you need something to defend yourself with, anything. A gun would be too risky, especially with little Kirra around, but if she finds this she won't be able to open it.'

I pressed on a button on the top right corner, which was pretty much invisible to the naked eye, and the box popped open. What was revealed was a pocket knife, the same eagle on it only with color this time. Every color of the rainbow swerving together. I showed him how to open it, what else he could use it for and he listened intently, his eyes fixed on the weapon.

'Consider it your birthday present, I already know you can pick a lock with it.' I winked and he grinned sheepishly.

The first day he'd been in he found the tools to pick my dad's locked door, which was pretty amazing I have to admit. His mother though hadn't been all too happy about it after waking up and hearing. Little Kirra was a snitch, though she just wanted to tell her mother how proud she was of her brother so it doesn't really count.

Zayn looked up at me, his eyes big and a smile on his lips. 'Thank you so much Kaitlinn.' I smiled and was about to ruffle up his hair when the sudden blaring of sirens made me jump off the bed and frown.

'Go upstairs.' I told Zayn, and he complied begrudgingly. He knew however he couldn't help me, not with a knife, and the safest place would be up, he was smart that way.

I went to the window and pulled the curtains aside carefully, I couldn't see much but I could hear.

'This is the US army. We are here to help survivors get to safety. If anyone is out there, come out so we can help.' The words echoed loudly through the streets and I soon saw where it was coming from. An armored truck moving through the streets, a man wearing a soldier uniform was holding a megaphone in his hand. I cursed and closed the curtains.

'Stupid idiots.' I muttered, thinking of how the sound would probably attract walkers from miles away.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's note: Yay already one follower. Thank you so much because I seriously wanted to update soon haha. Anyways thank you for reading this. I don't think I'm going to follow the episodes exactly, or at all, I still have to see about that. Next chapter will be in Daryl's POV a bit. Please favorite, follow and/or review. I really appreciate it! I'll update when I get two favs, follows or reviews (or mixed haha)**_

_**Thanks for reading!**_

Chapter 2

Maybe I should've stayed inside, that might actually have been smarter, but I was pissed and that got the best of me. I pulled the floorboards from my door and opened it, stalking out of the house angrily.

'What the fuck do you think you're doing!?' I yelled at the soldiers.

As a reflex I quickly looked around to see if any walkers were close by or not. Lucky for me there weren't any, yet. Considering the sound that had been made before though, there would be soon.

The guy who had been holding the megaphone before jumped off the truck. The driver completely ignored me, though I could see him glancing at me through the rearview mirror.

'We're from the refugee camp up in New York.' The megaphone soldier said. 'We're here to look for survivors.'

I wanted to hit the guy for being this stupid. 'Well surviving went pretty well until you came along, making noise like that!' I was still yelling at him.

'Well how do you suppose we get the attention of survivors then?'

Did he really just ask me that? I was about to curse at him when his eyes found someone behind me.

'Hello there ma'am.' He said with a friendly smile, 'Are you ok?'

I looked back to see Sarah walking out of the house, well limping was more like it. She had left her kids inside I guessed, which I was grateful for. The soldier sounded a lot nicer towards her, but then again, she hadn't come out yelling like I had. Plus she was obviously wounded, which called onto the sympathy of others.

'No she's not.' I said, suddenly a lot calmer. These guys might be able to help her, and I didn't want to ruin that by being rude myself. 'She's been hurt badly in a car crash.' I clarified.

Sarah had wanted to get out of this place with her children. She told me that she had taken her husband's car. The last thing she remembered was having to swerve because of some walker and then she crashed into a building. I had been on my way to the store that day and heard the crash. Considering walkers couldn't drive I was interested and decided to investigate.

When I found her I saw she was in bad shape. Her leg had been stuck and she was bleeding heavily. She immediately asked me if her children were ok, though her voice was no more than a whisper I heard her and looked in the back seat. The kids were fine apart from some scrapes and the fright the crash had given them.

I helped all of them out of the car and inside my house. We were just in time as walkers were starting to emerge from everywhere, the noise from the crash attracting them. I have been taking care of her ever since, knowing that what I was doing wasn't even close to the help she really needed but also knowing it was better than getting nothing.

'Ma'am, would you allow us to take you to safety?' The man with the megaphone asked her calmly. 'We can take care of you up in New York and you'll soon be fine again.'

He talked like he was trying to convince her of buying something in the store and I didn't like that at all. I looked at Sarah's face and saw surprise written all over it, and something else, something that I couldn't believe I saw. Hope.

I had thought she had given up on that, like I had. Maybe she had given up on it but this just made it resurface again, or maybe it never really left, I wasn't sure. The thing I did know was that I didn't want it to leave her eyes.

She was a young woman, in her thirties, with blonde hair and blue eyes, like her daughter. She could've been beautiful in better times, right now she just looked tired. She loved her children and they loved her. I didn't want them to lose her because I had been too rude and chased these soldiers away.

I took a deep breath and then smiled at her.

'If you want to go with them Sarah, you can. The kids won't mind leaving either, you know that.' She looked at me, hesitating.

'Are you sure?' She asked, her voice hoarse.

I nodded, 'You should go.'

'You aren't coming with us?'

I shook my head, 'No, I have to finish things down here.'

She frowned at that and seemed to hesitate once again but the soldier was already at her side and said something to her, too soft for me to hear. She nodded at the guy and directed a sad smile at me, 'Thank you Kaitlinn, for everything.'

The soldier put an arm around her waist and helped her limp up to the truck.

'I'll go get the kids.' I told no one in particular and went inside the house.

I knew I would miss them, all of them. The kids and Sarah. It was great to have company around and not be alone all the time, being able to hear other voices than just your own, but I just couldn't go with them. My family was still out here, even if they were undead, I had to finish what I'd started. I'd promised them.

'Zayn, Nico and Kirra. Grab the stuff you need most and come down quick!' I yelled up the stairs.

They didn't have much, but the things they had were important to them so I knew they'd bring those things with them. It took them about a minute to get down, Zayn holding the bag which contained everything.

'Let's..' I didn't get to finish as suddenly the screeching of tires echoed through the house. I turned around and ran outside, seeing the armored truck speeding off. What the hell? I looked around and saw what had made them leave, a horde of walkers coming this way. They seemed to be moving faster than normal and I cursed.

'Where's mom?' Zayn asked. I spun around and ushered him inside, not answering.

'You have everything you need?' I asked him while moving to the kitchen and grabbing my bag off the kitchen table again. I stuffed it full of ammunition, a few guns and some other things I came across. I didn't have time to look for anything in particular. The last thing I put in was a picture frame of my family, which lay face down on the kitchen counter. When I was done I saw him stare at me for a second before answering with a hesitant yes.

'Then we have to go.' I said urgently, 'Now.'

Zayn nodded curtly, taking Kirra's hand. I ran to the door and peeked past it as it opened. Like I thought, walkers from miles away all coming this way. Just great.

My house was in the middle of the street facing several other houses. One of those had a car which miraculously had survived everything that had happened. Walkers were gaining in from both sides of the streets, scattered around. There were just a few nearby and I shot them down quickly, running towards the car. I broke down the window and opened the back door for the kids. Zayn helped his brother and sister get in while I used the skills my brother had taught me to get the car running without a key. For once in my life I was happy he was sent to jail for jacking a car.

When the car was finally running I backed out of the driveway to see walkers coming from everywhere. You would think military would be smarter than this right? I sighed and then decided to do something reckless. Sometimes that's the only way to survive and it seemed like a hell of a better option than having these things eat us.

I gave full throttle and the car sped away towards the walkers in front of me. I heard their collective gurgling, a sound I had found I hated more than anything in my life. The front window was soon splattered with blood and had cracks all over it from hitting bodies.

The sickening stench of the walkers made me want to vomit but I had no time, I had to keep going right now. Glancing back in the rearview mirror I saw Kirra's head buried against Zayn's chest, scared. Nico was clutching Zayn's hand and Zayn? He was just staring out of the front window, his eyes cold.

I sighed again and dared to look at the gas meter, I guess I was in luck. The car almost had a full tank of gas, which could bring us far enough away from this place. Not that anywhere else would have no walkers, but I couldn't worry about that just yet. Right now I couldn't worry about anything other than getting the kids to safety.

* * *

'You can go to sleep Kaitlinn! I'll keep watch.'

I smiled at Zayn but shook my head, 'It's fine. I'll be fine.'

He was the one to shake his head this time. 'You haven't slept since last night!' He protested.

He had a point. I hadn't stopped driving until I was positive we were far enough away from home. I stopped at around dusk, but only because the road was grid locked by cars. I couldn't drive any further and it had been pretty frustrating, until I thought of sleep. From then on I've been fighting to keep my eyes open so I could keep watch.

Kirra and Nico were sleeping, like Zayn had been before. I smiled at him in, what I hoped was, a reassuring way. 'I have to keep watch don't I?' I asked him.

He shrugged, 'I can keep watch. You need to be awake tomorrow, you're the one who can keep us safe.'

He was right again, he really was a bright boy. I also knew he wouldn't back down, he was stubborn as well.

'Promise me you'll wake me up the moment you hear something out of the ordinary! Anything! And do not go investigating on your own.' I told him. He nodded fiercely.

I leaned my head back against the head rest, the events of the day replaying before me. I had to admit I liked the boring days of staying inside a lot more. I closed my eyes and saw Sarah's face in front of me, she was gone. They had taken her to a safe place, that was something positive right?

They had left the kids behind though, why would she have agreed to that? It didn't make sense. On the other hand she probably didn't have much of a choice, they wouldn't have let her off is she had wanted to, soldiers were stubborn.

_Please be alright_, I thought. _I'll bring the kids to you, I promise, just be ok. They need you._

Slowly I felt myself drift away, feeling better after promising her I would keep the kids safe. I wasn't sure if I really could keep that promise, but I would do everything in my power to.

I woke up as the sun was shining through the front window. I was wide awake within a second, remembering Zayn telling me to get some sleep. I turned around quickly and to my relief saw all three of them still sleeping peacefully in the back seat. I guessed Zayn would probably have fallen asleep himself, but wasn't mad at him. He was just a kid and nothing happened so why worry needlessly.

I sat back a little, scoping the place for as far as I could see, nothing special in sight. I sighed, relieved, and waited for the kids to wake up.

Nico was the first one, his hunger getting the best of him I guessed as I heard the rumbling of his stomach. I opened my bag and took out two granola bars for breakfast, he took them from me and ate greedily.

Kirra probably woke up because of the smell of breakfast and I gave her the same as I had given Nico. She ate them slower, savoring the taste more. She never liked granola bars, but when she was hungry she could eat anything.

Zayn was the last to wake up, he was, like me, wide awake quickly.

'I fell asleep.' He pointed out, astonished with himself. I knew he had wanted to stand watch for so long and now he was scolding himself silently for falling asleep when he finally got the chance.

I shrugged, 'Happened to me the first few times as well,' I told him. 'It's fine.'

I didn't tell him how falling asleep had cost_ me _the remaining part of my family, that would make him feel a lot worse probably, and me for that matter.

I grabbed one granola bar for him and he ate his as slow as Kirra did, still looking like he was scolding himself.

If it were up to me I would've given him three granola bars, because he was older than the others and needed his strength, but he insisted on saving as much food as possible like I always did. I don't even know how long I haven't eaten for now, probably about three days. I didn't mind though, always thinking the kids were more important and if I didn't eat they could eat more. It wasn't like I was hungry, especially not with the thoughts of zombies roaming the streets. For some reason my stomach didn't want much food anymore these days.

I stretched in the car and grunted, 'I'm gonna get out for a second guys, if you see anything give me a shout.' I directed it at Zayn mostly, who would surely be watching. He nodded and I smiled as I opened the car door and stepped out. That smile soon disappeared though as I saw a walker making it's way here.

It wasn't moving very fast and as I inspected it closer I saw it had no eyes. I swallowed some bile at the sight and contemplated what to do. It didn't seem to notice me, nor was it all too close, so I decided to grab my gun in a second.

I stretched onto my toes to see if there was a way out of this grid lock. I saw cars all the way up to the bend, there probably would be more behind it. I cursed under my breath, making sure the walker wouldn't hear it. Suddenly I saw something heading my way, fast. In the blink of an eye I jumped to the right. My left shoulder was suddenly pushed back with great force and a searing pain went through it. I couldn't scream, my throat having closed shut at the sudden rush of air I breathed in. I fell backward onto the ground all kinds of colorful dots roaming across my vision field. This was not good.

I looked at my shoulder and tried to concentrate and focus. It took me a second but soon I saw that there was an arrow sticking out, that was new. Yes I'd been shot several times already, I even had a knife lodged in the side of my stomach once, but an arrow was something I hadn't seen before.

In the back of my mind I noted the car door opening and slamming shut. 'Kaitlinn!' Zayn shouted, shocked. Kirra screamed and Nico was looking at me with wide eyes, scared. _Shit._

'I'm fine.' I tried to assure them, but that wasn't all too credible considering there still was an arrow out of my shoulder. I couldn't get it out though, that would only make it worse, or so I thought. I knew that if you were stabbed you had to keep the knife in to minimize the bleeding, truth is I wasn't sure it would also apply to arrows, but I guessed so.

Suddenly I realized something. I had just been shot which meant there must still be someone out there, I didn't want the kids to get hurt so I instructed them to get back in the car.

Kirra and Nico did as told but Zayn stood in front of me with his arms crossed.

'I'm not getting in.' He said stubbornly.

I sighed and another wave of pain, accompanied by nausea, came over me. I stumbled to my feet and my vision faltered slightly. I looked back at my wound and noticed it was bleeding heavily, the whole left side of my shirt already soaked in blood. So maybe the whole 'leave it in' thing only applied to knives,_ fuck_.

'Are you ok?' Zayn asked, suddenly sounding everything but stubborn.

I forced a smile, 'I'll be fine.'

'Don't lie to me.' He said, his eyes showing me he was scared, really scared. He had lost his mother only about a day ago and I knew he didn't want to lose me as well.

I kept the smile in place and stumbled to the car door. My vision faltered once more but I didn't miss the walker coming up from behind Zayn. How had he gotten this close this fast?

I wanted to open the door so I could get my gun but for some reason I couldn't get a hold of the door handle. I cursed inwardly as a black haze started at my peripheral vision, spreading quickly. This was not good, I thought as I slid down to the ground, my back against the car door.

'Kate!'

Zayn never called me Kate, never. So why was he calling me Kate now, I wondered. I looked up and saw his scared eyes, he sat down next to me and grabbed my hand. I saw the walker behind him, getting closer. I wanted to warn him, tell him to grab the gun from the car and shoot the thing, but nothing came out. He wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, and I felt like crying at the thought of him being killed together with his siblings. I had failed, already. I was about to lose those who had made me feel like I had a family again.

Out of nowhere I saw the walker fall down to the ground, an arrow sticking out of the back of his head. He was dead. I felt relieved and wanted to smile, but I couldn't. My eyes were only just slits now, not opened far enough to see things clearly anymore.

I did however see another figure, standing in front of the sun on the exact same spot the walker had previously stood.

_ No! Not another walker..._ I thought in despair but couldn't make a sound as that was the moment I checked out, darkness enveloping me and leaving me alone and helpless, like Zayn was right now.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's note: HeyHey readers,**_

_**I am so happy with the favorite, follows and the review I got from Maddy-MarieXO! Thank you all so much for taking the time to read. Like I said this chapter will be in Daryl's POV. I have the ideas for the next few chapters in mind already, I'll post chapter 4 the moment I get 3 follows, favorites or reviews (or a mix). I'd love you if you'd review and let me know what you think! Sorry if the accents aren't all right...**_

_**If you have any tips, ideas, comments, questions or whatever. Just PM or review. Thanks so much again. I hope you'll enjoy.**_

**Chapter 3**

**_Daryl's POV:_**

_Oh shit._

The thought was repeating itself in my head a few times. This is not good, at all.

I left camp specifically to kill some geeks. Why? Because I was in the mood. My brother still hadn't come back to camp and truth is that it was driving me crazy. I knew he was an asshole and that most people don't like him, but he's still my fucking brother. He was the only one who ever really tried to take care of me. I didn't show the rest of the camp that I cared so much, no need for them to know.

I _had _told them to stay away from the main road anytime today because if I saw anything I'd shoot. I had believed there was just one walker out there and was keeping an eye on him when suddenly there was a second. I didn't even consider the fact she could be human, I didn't think, I just shot an arrow straight at her. Then when the car door opened and three kids climbed out, I knew I'd made a mistake. When I heard a scream I knew I'd made a _grave _mistake.

The walker, previously just wandering around between the cars, moving slowly and without a purpose, was now heading straight towards the place the scream came from, fast and deliberately. I cursed and ran straight up to the road, maneuvering past the cars that blocked it.

I still couldn't quite believe what I'd done. Killing humans wasn't anything new, I had to do that before. Killing innocent humans was another story. Then again, who was innocent these days? The thought didn't help me feel better though.

The walker was close to them now and I cursed again, breaking out in a sprint. I ended up behind the walker, he hadn't even heard me come up behind him. I raised my crossbow and shot an arrow through the back of his head. His completely lifeless body slumped down to the ground and I couldn't help but feel just a bit smug at my kill. That feeling was soon replaced by a feeling of guilt as I saw the woman I'd shot.

I was lucky, for as far as that could apply in a world full of walkers and death. The woman hadn't been hit in the heart, which I had aimed for. Instead the arrow was lodged into her left shoulder, soaking her shirt with blood. Her chest was still heaving, though shallow, which meant I hadn't killed her. Yet.

She couldn't be much older than 20, 23 maybe? I wasn't sure. These kids weren't hers though but had no time to mull over what these kids were to her because one of them, the one who had been sitting in front of her before, suddenly spun around. He was holding a knife and was pointing it at me with tears in the corner of his eyes.

In all the years I've come across people with weapons I've become quite an expert in handling these kind of situations. Except for the fact this was a kid and he was emotional. Emotions were dangerous when holding a weapon, anything the other person says can result in someone getting wounded.

I put my crossbow down and raised my hands so he could see I was unarmed. I wasn't completely, still had a few knives with me, but he didn't know that.

'I'm not goin' to hurt you.' I said, trying to sound friendly. He obviously didn't buy it, considering I just shot someone he knew with an arrow. Maybe she was their sister, I thought suddenly.

'You shot her.' He said. It wasn't a question but I nodded anyway.

'I'm sorry ok, I thought she was somethin' else.'

He scowled, 'A walker?' He yelled. 'You thought she was a walker?'

I nodded, frowning at the kid who was still holding the knife. After careful consideration, well just a thought entering my mind really, I lowered my hands and acted impatient.

'Look kid, you can stand there with the knife all you want but it won't help your sister now will it?'

He looked back at the girl and at me, hesitating. He then clenched his jaw and lowered the weapon, muttering something which I thought was 'she's not my sister', but I couldn't be sure.

'Get the other kids.' I instructed him, 'We have a camp further into the woods, I can treat her there.'

He looked at me suspiciously but, after glancing at the young woman once more, he walked to the car door and told the kids to come out. Both of them clung to him like two scared rabbits, I couldn't blame them really. I sighed, kneeling down next to the woman and inspecting her closely. She had a scrape on her lower left arm, not bandaged yet. That wasn't the most pressing thing right now though, I needed to stop the bleeding of her shoulder. The only problem was that I couldn't take the arrow out because that would cause even more bleeding. I quickly stood up and unclasped my belt, taking it off.

'What are you doing?' The kid from earlier asked. He sounded more controlled now and when I looked up I could see the tears were gone now.

'I'm goin' to stop the bleedin'.' I simply said.

Using my belt as a tourniquet I looked her over once more. Other than the blood that was soaking her clothes and the fact she was as white as a sheet, she was gorgeous. Her hair was a chestnut brown color and reached her shoulders, curling wildly. I didn't have much time to dwell over her looks though, not if I wanted her to live.

I went over to pick up my crossbow, slinging it over my shoulder, and went back to pick her up. I made sure to position her in such a way there was no strain on the arrow. I shot a quick glance at the kids behind me and then started walking towards the woods.

The kid who had threatened me with a knife was still holding the other children. A young girl with blonde hair and a boy with brown hair like the kid himself. I heard them following me back to camp and was glad I didn't have to tell them to be quiet. I could hear they were struggling to keep up, but I couldn't slow down. Not with a dying woman in my arms.

Not one of them complained about my speed though, which I thought was a miracle and I was glad about.

Again I was in luck as no walkers came jumping out from between the trees. Of course this area hadn't seen many walkers yet, but I was positive we would see them some day.

When we finally reached camp several heads turned towards me. I would've liked the look of astonishment on their faces for any other reason, not this one though.

'What happened?' Andrea asked, running up to me, well more up to the woman than up to me. She didn't particularly like me, but no one did so I didn't think much about it.

'I shot her.' I said, sounding emotionless, as if I didn't care. I wanted to take it back but before I could she shot me a glare and quickly called Shane. He took her over from me and I couldn't help but feel just a bit angry at him, and Andrea. They were both gone again though, in search of medical supplies I guessed, so I couldn't express my anger.

'What's this?' Lori asked surprised, gesturing at the children who were still standing behind me.

I shrugged, 'They were with her,' I gestured to where Shane and Andrea had left to. 'Followed me here.'

She shot me a skeptical looking, knowing that if I hadn't wanted them to follow me they wouldn't have been able to. She was right. No wait, that's not true. I didn't really want them here, it only meant there would be more mouths to feed. I couldn't leave them out there either though, especially not considering I was the one to shoot their sister, or whatever she was to them.

Lori walked up to the kids, acting all motherly. I saw that she gave them a hug and knew they'd be alright. That's when I let a yawn escape and I headed to my tent, I hadn't slept much last night and considering everyone seemed to be taking care of those I brought in, I had nothing else to do really.

I closed my eyes and instantly remembered hearing the scream. It must've been the little girl.

I swallowed away the guilt I was feeling and pressed my eyes shut more tightly. I didn't need to remember what happened to know I was going to feel even worse if she actually died. I prayed to God that she would be ok and felt stupid instantly after I finished. Then again, maybe it would help, who knows.

I tried to relax and eventually I did fall into a deep and dreamless sleep.

I slept until nightfall and made my way out of my tent quietly. I saw the small fire everyone was surrounding and made my way over there.

'Behind you!' The little girl suddenly shouted, pointing at me. I turned around but saw nothing, when I turned back though I saw some of the camp members sniggering.

'I get why she would be scared of you,' Shane muttered. I shot him a glare but didn't say anything. Instead I stretched a bit, 'Where is the girl?' I asked Andrea. She shrugged, 'What do you care?'

I wanted to throw an insult at her head. I wasn't that insensible, I did shoot her.

'She's sleeping it off.' Rick told me, 'Shane and Andrea bandaged her up.'

I nodded once, feeling grateful at least one guy here was mature. I never liked Shane, Rick was a lot better. Also better fit to be the leader if you ask me but no one does.

'I'm gonna check the perimeter.' I said, turning around.

'Try not to shoot any more humans!' Andrea called after me, I ignored her. It was a mistake, I was sorry, why the fuck did they have to go on about it? Probably because I didn't look sorry. The only thing that showed I cared was asking how she was doing, but that obviously wasn't enough. I grabbed my crossbow and went back between the trees. At least this was a place I felt home.

When I was a kid Merle took care of me, whenever he wasn't around I had time to spare. I found hunting fascinating and soon learned the ropes. Now I'm an excellent tracker, and great shot.

That made me think of the woman again and I sighed. If she hadn't suddenly moved to the side the arrow would've pierced straight through her heart. That had been the plan anyway. After she was shot I'd go up and shoot her in the head to finish her off. Now, instead, I had to drag her back to camp and we probably wouldn't get rid of her again. That meant I'd have to find more food.

I scouted the grounds surrounding the camp, picking up squirrels that I came across. No walkers in sight, which I was glad about. It meant we were safe, for now. There was no doubt in my mind walkers would eventually find this place and tear it down, but until then I let the others believe they were safe. That way they had some hope left at least.

I sat down against a tree after two rounds. I'd take a rest and make a round again in a few minutes.

I closed my eyes and almost drifted off back to sleep when suddenly a rustling to my left made me snap right awake.

'Who's there?' I asked, straining to hear a voice, or gurgling.

A small figure walked out from behind the bushes, his hands raised. The moon was full and I instantly recognized the taller kid from earlier.

'What are you doin' out here kid?' I asked him, lowering my weapon.

'I'm not a kid.' He protested. 'My name is Zayn.'

I raised an eyebrow at the boy. 'Whatever your name might be, you're still a kid.'

He glared at me but didn't leave, instead he sat down across from me, his legs pulled up to his chest.

'You'll worry Lori if you come out here.' I pointed out.

He just shrugged, 'She thinks I'm in my tent, fast asleep.'

I couldn't help a short chuckle from escaping, the kid was crafty.

He actually reminded me a bit of myself. He looked detached and cold but kept his family close.

'What are you doin' out here?' I asked again.

'I came to ask you a question.'

I cocked my head to the side, narrowing my eyes. 'And what might that be?'

'Is Kaitlinn going to make it?' He asked. He was putting on a strong facade but I could see his lips tremble. So her name was Kaitlinn, I thought. That's a real rich girl name. I was surprised she was still alive with three kids around her. Then again, maybe she had been part of a much larger group and they got separated only recently.

'Rick said she was just sleepin' it off right? Why come and ask me?'

He looked me straight in the eye. 'You wouldn't lie to me because I am a kid.'

I nodded, respecting that. He was right, everyone would lie to him because they believed he wouldn't be able to handle it.

'I don't know. I haven't seen her and haven't talked to Rick either so it's plain and simple, I don't know.'

He nodded, his lip had stopped trembling but he got up shakily. He started to turn around when I stopped him.

'Is she family of yours?'

He shook his head, 'No, she saved my family.' Then he turned around and left.

I was wondering about that. So Rich Name wasn't helpless after all, I thought. For some reason I found myself wanting to talk to her, see how tough she really was or if the kid had just exaggerated. You never do know with kids, right?

After a few more rounds I was relieved from duty by Shane, who glared at me.

I was about to walk away without a second glance when I decided to ask something instead.

'Is she really goin' to make it?' He looked at me, surprised.

'Why do you care?'

I smiled at him menacingly before turning around and stalking off. If he didn't want to answer than just fuck off. The thought of not knowing if she was going to make it though, didn't really help me much while trying to get back to sleep again. Or it might be the fact I'd slept already today. Either way, it took me a few hours to actually drift off.

The last thought entering my mind being that tomorrow might not be as bad as today. Then again, every day was bad these days.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's note:**_

_**Good morning/day/evening/night everyone! I am really so happy with the follows and favorites! Here you have chapter 4, I hope it's still fun to read. Please review and let me know what you think, even if you only want to criticize, I would like to know how I can do better.**_

_**Thankyou for reading, I hope you'll enjoy.**_

Chapter 4

_**Kaitlinn POV:**_

When I was 14 I went to camp with my brother. He was 18 at the time and I was sure I was a burden, but he never complained. He loved me and he took care of me, like brothers are supposed to do. He had his fair share of trouble with the law, but only to protect his family, to protect me.

At camp he had to go up on a roof to fix it, there was a leak caused by the storm that had raged the night before. I was scared for him and waited anxiously for him to come back down. He did, just not the right way.

Up there a cat scared startled him, resulting in him falling backwards down the roof. I ran up to him immediately and when I saw his arm I screamed. That's when everything went black and I fainted.

He had broken his arm, the bone was sticking out. At the time I couldn't handle it, however stupid I now think that was. Now I've seen walkers who look a lot worse than my brother had looked that day, making the memory something futile and unimportant.

The fainting part of that memory though wasn't. I've only ever fainted once in my life, that day, but I still remember how it feels.

The fainting in itself isn't scary, I actually welcomed the darkness. The waking up part was the thing that scared me though, more because I couldn't, than anything else. My body had felt heavy and darkness had been holding me down, suffocating me. That was exactly like I was feeling at the moment.

My arms felt like lead and I didn't seem to be able to move them, the same applied for every other part of my body. My eyes were glued shut and my ears were ringing. I had no idea where I was, or if I was alone or not. I didn't even know if Zayn, Kirra and Nico were alright.

I was exhausting myself by worrying about things I had no control over right now and soon fell back into darkness.

* * *

This time I woke up at the sound of voices, which was a good sign because it meant I could hear again.

'...healing all too well and she has a high fever.' A woman's voice said.

I guessed they were talking about me, but I couldn't be sure. Maybe there were other wounded people around this place. I did feel warm though and I knew I was sweating. The voice sounded worried about my health and I wanted to tell her not to worry, I was fine.

'Do you think she's been bitten?' Another voice asked, a male's this time.

_What?_ _Of course not! _I wanted to shout but I couldn't. My mouth was too dry and my lips wouldn't move.

'No, Daryl said she hasn't been bitten, just shot.'

Shot? I thought. Then I remembered. I _had_ been shot, by an arrow to be precise. But if I'm alive that means that I've been saved from the walker by someone. Did that mean that the kids were alright as well?

'But you're saying she has a fever.' The male's voice countered.

'Yeah, she's wounded Shane. It's not like it's strange she has a fever!'

The man, Shane, grumbled something I couldn't understand. The voices faded as the people they belonged to were probably moving away from me.

I tried to move again but I still couldn't. The ringing in my ears slowly crept back and eventually darkness surrounded me once again, damn I hated this.

* * *

Third time's the charm, I thought as I woke up again. There were no voices around this time, only the sound of the wind ruffling the leaves on the trees. I concentrated solely on moving my fingers, hoping that if that would work I'd get the rest of my body to do as I wanted as well.

It took me several minutes, but eventually I felt my left index finger trembling slightly. I focused even harder now, until I could move all of my finger freely. When I tried to move my whole hand however, an excruciating pain shot up to my shoulder, making me want to scream. My eyes shot open at the pain but still no sound came out of my mouth.

I quickly squinted my eyes at the light that shone through the thin fabric of the green tent I was in. I waited a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the sudden intrusion of light. When I could see everything clearly again I sighed in relief, glad that I finally had the control back of my body.

I took a deep breath next and tried to sit up. The pain in my arm made me fall back down with a grunt. I cursed under my breath and took another deep breath. I pressed my eyes shut and tried to sit up again. This time I bit my lip so I had something else to focus on than the pain in my shoulder.

When I was finally sitting I let go of the breath I'd been holding. I was breathing heavily as I regained strength again, my heart racing and my shoulder throbbing. I looked at my arm and saw that my scrape, which hadn't been bad enough to treat myself after it stopped bleeding, had also been bandaged. My shoulder was the thing that stood out though, the bandage red with blood.

'Well that looks good…' I muttered to myself sarcastically.

After a few minutes of waiting for most of the pain to disappear I decided to get up. I opened the tent and crawled out, making sure not to use my left arm in any way. As I scrambled to my feet clumsily I clamped my arm against my chest so it wouldn't move too much. The strain I was putting on it made it throb painfully but for the most part I was able to ignore it by inspecting my surroundings.

I was in the woods, at a campsite, or so it seemed. It actually looked pretty cozy. There were several tents spread around and I could see a large RV. There was a line with washed clothes out to dry and a pile of woods with stones around it, a campfire.

I tried to spot someone, anyone, so I could ask about Zayn, Kirra and Nico. I needed to know if they were alright, I just needed to know.

I didn't see anyone though and frowned as I walked past an empty truck. Where the hell was everyone? Not that I knew who 'everyone' was, but I had heard voices before so there should be other people.

Suddenly the door to the RV opened and a woman with blonde hair stepped out. She froze when she saw me but when realizing who I was she hurried towards me quickly.

'What are you doing out of your tent? You're supposed to be resting!'

I recognized the voice from last time I woke up, the one outside my tent. I wanted to shrug but thought better of it with the wound on my shoulder, plus there were more pressing matters than my wounds.

'Have you seen three children? Two boys with brown hair and a girl with..'

She didn't let me finish, 'Blonde hair. Yeah I've seen them, they're fine. Now come on, we have to get you back.'

She reached out for my arm but I backed away.

'I need to see them.' I insisted. If I didn't see they were alright with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe this stranger. Yes she had, I think at least, taken care of me, but that didn't automatically make her trustworthy.

She stared at me for a second and then sighed, slightly annoyed I guessed. 'Stay here then. I'll go get them.'

I didn't like to be ordered around, so instead of listening to her I followed. She soon noticed and shot me a glare, she didn't stop walking though so I had no problems with it. She could hate me all she wanted, as long as I got to see the kids.

The moment I saw them a sigh of relief escaped my lips and I was actually in the mood for smiling. The blonde woman had lead me to some kind of lake, surrounded by rock walls reaching high. I couldn't really focus on the beautiful scene in front of me though, even if I had wanted to, instead I focused on the kids. I studied them, looking for any indication that they were wounded, they didn't seem to be.

Zayn and Nico were both sitting with their backs facing me, Kirra was working on something so she didn't see me either. There were two other kids with them, a young girl and boy, and what I guessed was the boy's mother. Behind them stood another woman with blonde hair, watching over the kids as well.

I could hear Kirra's laugh and had to smile myself at hearing the sound again. The woman sitting with the children looked up and saw me, surprise evident on her face. This made Kirra, who had wanted to show the woman something, look up as well. Her blue eyes looking for whatever had surprised the unknown woman.

'Katy!' She practically screamed when she spotted me, forgetting all about what she had been doing. She jumped up and came running towards me. I knew she wouldn't stop before she was hugging me and braced my shoulder for the impact her little body would cause.

When she jumped to hug me we both fell, I had no choice but to use my injured arm to catch myself. I had to stop myself from screaming once again but was soon distracted by a Kirra who was bouncing up and down on me with wide eyes and an equally wide grin.

'Katy you're awake!' she exclaimed.

I laughed, ignoring the pain it caused, 'Awake and well.' I said, tickling her with the hand that wasn't injured. She couldn't handle tickling and so soon she was off me, still laughing.

I got on my feet slowly and found her already standing next to me, ready to grab onto my leg like she always did. She wrapped her small arms around my upper leg and hugged me, I chuckled at the sight and looked up again. Nico looked like he could cry any minute and I opened my arms for a hug so he wouldn't have to cry. He came running up to me and hugged me, keeping quiet like always. He might not say a lot but I knew he was happy at seeing me right now.

Zayn smiled at me and even though I could see he wanted to hug me, he didn't.

'Kirra, Nico, come on. Kaitlinn still needs her rest, if we want her to get all better.' Zayn said instead. I felt bad for the fact he sounded so old and still was so young.

Kirra and Nico both let go, pouting a bit.

'I'll be back soon.' I told them with a smile, and their faces changed instantly into two equally bright smiles.

The woman with the blonde hair walked back up to me and smiled, 'See that they're alright?' She asked.

I smiled sheepishly, 'Yeah, thanks.' She nodded and gestured for me to follow her again.

'How many people are staying here?' I asked her while we were making our way back to camp.

'Well there is me and my sister Amy. Lori with her husband Rick and her son Carl, Dale, Jim, Carol her husband Ed and her daughter Sophia, Shane, T-Dog, Glenn, Morales with his wife and two kids, Jacqui and Daryl. There are a few others but I'm not all too familiar with them I'm afraid.' She sounded regretful at the last part and I have to admit that that made me like her more.

'Where are they all then?'

She smiled, 'Dale was taking a break before but I'm pretty sure he'll be back on the RV right about now.'

Right at the moment she said it the RV came back into view, and like she said there was someone on top of it, holding binoculars in his hands. He seemed to be searching the grounds for something, walkers I think.

'Hey Dale!' The woman shouted. Dale looked down and smiled kindly when he saw us. '

This is…' She paused a second, looking at me for confirmation, 'Kaitlinn right?' I nodded, not surprised she knew my name considering Zayn had just called me that. She smiled and looked back up at Dale.

'Nice to meet you Kaitlinn, I'm Dale.'

Well that was informative, I thought sarcastically, considering the woman had already called him by his name. I smiled though and we started walking again.

'Oh right,' The blonde said, facing me once again. 'My name is Andrea by the way.'

'Well nice to meet you Andrea.' I told her with a smile. She smiled back.

We walked on back to the tent I had been laying in before.

'Lori was entertaining the kids, as you saw earlier. Carol is catching up on some sleep and her husband, well I don't know where he is.' This seemed a little strange to me, but then again. I didn't know these people so maybe it was normal here. After what I heard I'm surprised she even knew where half of these people were, they were with a lot.

'Glenn, Rick, Shane and T-Dog are probably making their rounds, Jim is getting water, Amy was with Lori as you could see, I though Jacqui and Morales are sleeping as well and finally Daryl is hunting.'

I nodded, amazed at the size of the group. I was glad though, that there were so many people still around who could work together. At least not every human has lost their humanity during the whole apocalypse thing.

'Let me look at your wound again, I'll have to change the bandage on your arm anyway.'

The sat me down on a car seat in front of the unlit campfire and went to grab a bag.

'I need you to tell me the truth at my next question.' She said after coming back. She was unwrapping the bandage around my arm and shoulder with a frown on her face. I was wearing a tank top, which I guessed was Andrea's considering she was wearing a similar one right now only in a different color, which made it easy for her to reach it.

'What?' I asked, confused by her sudden question.

'Has any blood entered your mouth or eyes?'

I stared at her a second and shook my head, 'No it hasn't.' I told her. She didn't ask me if I was bitten or scratched, which I guessed was because she had changed me into the clothes I was wearing now. That probably meant she had inspected me to see if there were any bite marks, at least that was what I would do.

Andrea nodded and smiled again, looking relieved. When the bandages were unwrapped she put them away in a small bag, she rummaged through it and frowned, 'I really need more of this..' she muttered, taking a bottle of disinfectant out and pouring it on a small towel.

She pressed the towel against my wound, which I had just noticed had stitches in it, and I hissed against the pain, she looked sorry but didn't say anything.

'Did anyone bring my bags with them?' I asked her to keep my mind off of the stinging. Her exclamation of needing medical supplies had reminded me.

She shook her head, 'No, did you have bags with you?'

I nodded, 'Two. One belonged to the kids.'

'I'm sorry but we don't have them.'

I cursed as she moved the towel to the scrape on my arm. For some reason that stung even more than my shoulder.

'I'll have to go get them then.' I muttered.

She looked at me, eyebrows raised, 'Why? Was there something important in there?'

'Kind of. There are some new medical supplies in there, guns, ammunition, the basics. But it would be great to have it back.' I didn't tell her the real reason I wanted the bag back, that would probably not get me anywhere.

She seemed to be considering that and bit her lip as she put away the towel and took a new bandage out. 'Maybe if you ask Daryl, he brought you here so he must know where the bags are, if they haven't already been stolen.'

'Daryl brought me in?' I asked her.

I remembered that just before I fainted I'd seen a second figure standing out against the sun. Could that have been a human instead of a walker? But then the arrow in the back of the walkers head must've been his, and that meant the arrow that had been lodged in my shoulder had been his as well.

'He shot me didn't he?' I asked before she could answer my last question. She nodded, biting her lip once again.

'He didn't mean to.' She soon defended him, but I didn't miss the doubt that showed in her eyes. I frowned, no one would shoot another human on purpose and then bring them along to their camp, would they? I couldn't imagine that.

'So he saved me and the kids?'

'Yes he did, but no one had a bag with them.'

'Of course they didn't.' I muttered, flinching as Andrea pressed the bandage against my skin.

I knew Zayn would've been the only one thinking about the bag, but I guessed he'd had a lot on his mind already with me gone and his sister and brother having to be saved as well. I actually wondered what had happened after I blacked out, I should ask Zayn that later, or Daryl if he would want to tell me.

'All done.' Andrea said, smiling at me again. Suddenly I felt exhausted. I hadn't even been awake for an hour and I wanted to sleep again, what the hell?

'You're immune system has taken quite a hit so you should go back to resting.' She said, noticing my exhaustion.

I nodded and headed for the tent again. 'Who's tent is this?' I asked Andrea before entering, curious.

She smiled, 'Dale had a spare one in his RV, that's this one.'

I chuckled, 'I'll have to thank him for that later, thank you for taking care of me Andrea.'

Then I went inside and lay back down, my eyes drooping the moment my head hit the makeshift pillow made from clothes.

I still hadn't eaten, which might also be the cause of the weak state I was in. On the other hand I wasn't really hungry so it wasn't like I minded. I closed my eyes and drifted off again, only this time while trying to think of a plan to get my bag back. The supplies in it weren't my biggest concern, I just needed my family picture back and I knew Zayn would have a picture in his bag as well which I wanted him to have back.

His mother would be in the picture and I felt obliged to return it to him. It was, in a way, my fault he had forgotten it. I would have to ask that Daryl guy sometime soon then. Right now though, I had to rest if I wanted to get through a whole day without feeling tired.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author's note: Hey everyone, so I'll explain a few things about the settings. Merle was left behind like in the show, but the camp wasn't attacked while the guys were heading back from Atlanta. They're still safe, for now. Other than that I don't think I have much to explain yet. I'm still not sure if I will go to the CDC in my story, maybe I will do something else. Anyways I'm sorry if Daryl isn't the way he is in the series, or the way you guys would like to see him, if you could help me make him more like the real Daryl Dixon I would greatly appreciate it. That's about all I've got to say. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy! Please review and let me know what you think!**_

Chapter 5

_**Kaitlinn's POV**_

I've had nightmares all my life, at least once a week. After the apocalypse though I normally didn't sleep long enough for a nightmare to form. I guess that was the reason I found myself in the woods in the middle of the night, surrounded by walkers right now that I was actually sleeping for more than 30 minutes.

I knew it was a dream, if the fact I didn't remember how I got here wasn't evidence enough, seeing my uncle standing there with his eyes a sickly yellow color was. He was dead, permanently dead, I killed him myself. Knowing that however didn't make it any better. I still felt my heart beat fast and loud in my chest, felt the sweat dripping down the side of my face. I clenched my jaw and pulled the gun from beneath the waistband of my jeans where I always put it.

Another reason I knew it was a dream was that the walkers were standing still, staring at me with hungry eyes. Walkers never stare at you, they just come right at you, growling. They don't hesitate, like I don't hesitate.

I raised my gun and shot the first six I laid my eyes on, all of them straight through the head. They fell down but still there was no movement with the rest of the walkers. I frowned, the sound of the gun should at least have made them take a step closer right?

Reloading my gun I chose the next six to shoot. When the last gunshot echoed through the woods there was still no movement. The shooting wasn't helping.

Yes, the ones I shot were dying, but for some reason the group still looked as large as it had before. They still had me surrounded.

Suddenly another 7 walkers fell down, their bodies hitting the ground face forward. I jumped back so they wouldn't touch me and searched for the person who had shot the arrows that were sticking out of the walkers' heads, I didn't find him however and no more arrows were shot. I was alone again.

The wind picked up and for a moment my eyesight was blocked by dark brown strands of hair. I pushed them aside quickly and my heart sank as I noticed that every walker who had been shot was standing upright again, their eyes trained on me. Some still had the arrows sticking out of the back of their heads, but it didn't seem to affect them.

I sank to my knees, knowing it was hopeless to shoot them. I didn't know what to do.

'Giving up already?' Someone asked. I slowly raised may head, looking up to see my brother hovering over me.

'I really thought you were stronger than that.' His voice was contorted, mixed with gurgling sounds. His eyes were clouded having become a distorted color I couldn't find the right name for. The left side of his face looked like it had melted. I could see that side of his skull and it made me feel sick. I didn't have time though, I had to finish this.

'I didn't give up.' I growled, getting up on my feet and glaring at the thing that I knew wasn't my brother. Still my hand was shaking as I raised my gun and aimed for his forehead. The killing of a walker sometimes sends a thrill through me, right now the only thing I was feeling as I looked into those colorless eyes was regret.

'And I never will.' I whispered, pulling the trigger. The walker fell backwards onto the ground. I quickly looked around and noticed that I was alone with the body now. The dark forest had grown more dense and I couldn't see past it anymore.

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and walked to the body of the walker I'd just shot. The moment I saw him I was gasping for air, feeling my insides squeeze, making me want to vomit. Instead, I woke up.

* * *

I shot up in my tent, cringing at the pain that went through my arm and biting back a groan. It wasn't morning yet but I could see that the darkness was slowly lifting.

My heart was ramming in my chest and my head was throbbing dully, like it used to when I had a nightmare.

I hadn't had a bad dream like this in ages and it took me a moment to get my breathing under control, my brother's clear hazel brown eyes haunting me still. It had been my brother. Not him after he died and turned into a walker, but him when he was still alive. His skin had the same pale complexion it always had and his eyes were those which would sparkle when he smiled.

I took a deep breath to get the image out and then lay back down again. There was a sharp, burning pain in my shoulder, now slowly fading. I waited for the sun to rise, trying to think about everything but my dream, and when I could see everything clearly I opened my tent and got out slowly.

I had no idea what time it was, but that didn't really matter all that much anymore these days. What mattered was night and day, because walkers would be more active at night.

I tried to be as quiet as possible, not wanting to wake anyone who was still sleeping, and took a wiff of the fresh air outside. I could see the sky being lit up by the sun which was rising now.

I didn't take long watching the sun, instead I started making my way past several tents. I would feel a lot better with some kind of weapon with me but I didn't see any lying around, which isn't weird considering there were kids around the camp. I'd just have to do without one, I mused.

'Well I hadn't expected to see you around this early.' A voice from my right said. 'lookin' good this mornin'.'

I spun around, more aware of the fact I had no weapon with me whatsoever. I prepared to use my fists but the movement made me cringe again. Fucking wound.

'Hey now, no need to try and look tough princess.' The guy the voice belonged to was smirking and I felt anger rise in the pit of my stomach. He had brown hair that was a bit messy but it looked good on him, which pissed me off. I knew I didn't look good in the morning, even if I didn't sleep. Right now though I looked like a complete mess. Normally I would've been able to let his comment of me 'looking good' slide and just ignore the guy. Right now though I wasn't in an all too good mood, mostly because of the dream I'd had, so instead I shot him a glare and flipped him off before walking on. His blue eyes showed nothing but amusement at my gesture and that made me only more angry.

He whistled after me, 'Tough chick..' he said sarcastically.

I clenched my fists and regretted it instantly as a burning pain shot through my arm. I wanted to hit the guy but knew I couldn't defend myself if he fought back, and he looked like a guy who would.

I tried to forget about him as I recalled the road I had taken with Andrea yesterday. The lake seemed to welcome me, glistening in the sunlight. It indeed looked beautiful. I sighed in admiration as I chose a spot that wouldn't be immediately visible upon entering the clearing, and slowly waded through the water with my clothes still on. I peeled them off when I was standing mid-thigh in the lake. I also unwrapped the bandages so I could clean the blood off.

My shoulder looked good, for an arrow wound, though it was still red and painful. I poured some water over it, cringing at the sting it caused.

'Ah fuck it.' I muttered and dove underwater, making sure not to hit the ground. I swam a few rounds, which is harder than it sounds with just using your right arm, and when I was sure I was clean I got out.

I had kept on my bra and panties, not having any spares nor wanting to be completely naked if someone walked in on me. Turned out that was a smart thing to do as, while I was trying to get the blood out of the Andrea's tank top, which doesn't work all too well with only water, someone did indeed come walking into the clearing. I didn't recognize him but he seemed to recognize me.

'We were looking for you.' He said. When he came closer and saw I wasn't wearing my clothes he stared. _Nice guy_, I thought sarcastically. I wasn't sure if he was staring because of the scars, but that probably wasn't the reason considering those were pretty much invisible until you were up close, or just because I was only wearing my underwear, probably the latter.

'Like what you see?' I asked him, annoyance clear in my voice.

He quickly looked away, 'Sorry, I didn't except you to be...' he gestured and I rolled my eyes.

Like that was a reason to stare. I quickly pulled on the shorts and tanktop I'd been wearing earlier, now wet and clinging to my body. It felt good and I knew it would dry pretty quickly in the heat.

'Why were you looking for me?' I asked him then, walking out of the water towards him and wringing the water from my hair.

He shrugged, not daring to look at me again, or so I guessed. 'You weren't in your tent, that made us worry.'

I snorted, 'Afraid I'd run off without the kids.'

This time he did look up and a pang of guilt went through me. I don't know why I'd said it. Maybe because during the swim I started wondering if Sarah really had tried to make the soldiers stay, or that she had chosen her own life over her children's. It was horrible to think that and I regretted it now, but the thoughts still lingered. People were capable of terrible things in times of crisis, and even though they say a mother would do anything for her children, I'm not really a believer.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean that.' I apologized.

He nodded, his mouth in a straight line. 'That probably did cross our minds though.' He admitted.

I looked away this time, towards the woods. I don't know why but I had a feeling we were being watched. I shook the thought out of my head, I was becoming paranoid for real.

'Well if they're waiting, let's go.'

He nodded, taking the lead.

'Oh wait, I didn't introduce myself yet.' He said, suddenly turning around.

'Shane.' I stated, making his eyes widen in surprise. 'I recognize your voice from outside the tent.'

This made him laugh, 'Well ok then, didn't know you were listening in on us.' He chuckled and smiled. 'You're Kaitlinn right?'

I just nodded, gesturing for him to lead the way again. I wasn't sure if I liked him or not. Andrea I liked, Lori too but I had only actually seen her play with the kids so that was a prejudice. The guy from earlier I didn't like all that much. The others I haven't even met yet.

I was wondering who the guy from earlier was when I entered the camp. I was greeted by several new faces which were smiling at me, the rude guy wasn't here though, what I didn't really mind.

_**Daryl's POV**_

'That son of a bitch.' I whispered, seeing Shane stare the girl from this morning down.

The girl who so happened to be the same I shot, and who so happened to be the one I offended less than an hour ago.

Not that I really cared, I didn't even say all that much. Just commented on her appearance, which resulted in her flipping me off with a glare. The stupid thing was I told her she looked good and she got mad. Now I have to admit I might've sounded a bit offending and sarcastic when I said it, but that's just my voice. I'm used to being rude and sarcastic, so whenever I say something it pretty much comes out like that. Though calling her a tough chick had been meant sarcastically, the rest not so much. She had looked good, especially for someone who had just woken up. Her dark brown hair was messy but that made her look even better. Then again, I haven't seen much living girls lately so my judgement could be clouded.

I had followed her, interested by the way she dared to flip off the famous Daryl Dixon, though she might not even known who I am. I had looked away while she got undressed, I wasn't about to lure in the bushes and watch her do _that_, and looked back a few minutes later, seeing her swimming around a bit. I was surprised at the fact she was able to swim with her shoulder, but maybe it was easier than I thought. Maybe what I was doing was wrong, but at least I was subtle about my luring, Shane was openly eye fucking her right now.

I couldn't hear what they were saying and cursed softly. I saw her getting dressed again though and walking up to him. They talked some more and her eyes wandered to the woods, searching for something it seemed. She couldn't know I was here, I was well hidden and I knew how to hide. It made me wonder though, if she might have that same instinctive feeling I had when being watched. Then again, she might just be enjoying the view, a princess like her.

I liked my new nickname for her. Rich Name wasn't exactly as catchy. Princess fitted her name, and her appearance if you looked past the bandages, the bandages she wasn't wearing anymore now. Her left arm looked bad, even from this distance, and I instantly felt guilty. I quickly pushed away the feeling and focused back on them.

She soon resumed her conversation with Shane as he started leading her back to camp. I never liked Shane, but right now I was liking him even less. The fact I didn't understand why made it even worse.

I started heading back slowly, relieved, though I would never admit that, that the girl hadn't died.

I walked out of the woods and saw everyone eating breakfast together, well almost everyone. Jim still wasn't back and Dale was still on the RV, I guessed Rick, T-Dog and Glenn were doing their rounds. I noticed that the princess had clean bandages hiding the wounds on her arms.

'Daryl, glad you could join us.' Amy said with a hint of annoyance. I wasn't much liked around the group. Only reason I was still around was that I could hunt and bring food in for everyone. Only reason I stayed really was because Merle might come back sometime, and maybe because I didn't want these guys to die of starvation, but that really was just a 'maybe'.

'Kaitlinn, this is Daryl.' Andrea said, a bit more controlled than her sister but still not very happy with me.

She looked up at me and the moment she recognized me she glared, I just smirked.

'Nice to see you again princess.'

'You already met?' Amy asked, surprised.

The girl looked at her with a grimace. 'I'm afraid we have.'

Amy bit back a laugh, but I ignored it, not really caring anyway. My eyes were still trained on the rich girl.

'You loved meetin' me, just admit it.' I said with a wink.

She rolled her eyes, 'Sure, after you admit you're an asshole.'

Several members of the group shot me a glance, I wasn't exactly getting mad though, like they expected. I was still smirking, finding it fun to play with the girl.

'I don't have to admit to it, everyone already knows _that_.'

She glared at me once again but couldn't reply as suddenly someone jumped onto her back. Her face contorted in pain but it was only for a second, nobody else seemed to even notice. She quickly recovered and pulled the blonde girl from her back up into her lap, acting like her shoulder didn't hurt at all. I was frowning slightly, she hadn't even made a sound. Not a lot of people could pull that off.

I was pulled back to reality as a small scream left Kirra's lips. It was an instinctive reaction to look around for any walkers and I noticed Kaitlinn doing the exact same thing, but soon she focused back on tickling the girl, who was now laughing in her arms.

'Kaitlinn, want something to eat?' Lori asked her with a kind smile.

She looked up and shook her head, 'No I'm fine. Thank you.'

'But you haven't eaten in days!' The kid, Zayn I thought he'd told me, protested.

She shrugged, 'I'm not hungry. Zayn believe me, I'm fine.' He grumbled something that I couldn't understand and I went back to frowning.

'You really should eat something.' Andrea insisted, after hearing Zayn's protests. 'We have enough so it's no big deal.'

She looked at Andrea, at Zayn and at the bread Lori was holding. She took one, faking a smile at Lori, and started nibbling on it slightly.

Everyone else went back to their conversations but I didn't miss her giving the little girl in her arms half. She caught me looking though and I couldn't decipher the emotion in her eyes.

I muttered something about going hunting and left the group behind, wondering about the rich girl. I had called her tough chick in a sarcastic way, but now I started considering her to really be one. The way she hadn't screamed at the pain in her shoulder which must be horrible and the fact she gave away her food, thinking about the girl more than about herself. Was that being tough or rather something else?

I shook my head, trying to clear it. I didn't want to think about this, why would I? She wasn't important and would only give me a headache. She was fun to play with, that's all. There was something about her though, something that interested me, or maybe it was just the fact that she was the only girl I'd seen since the start of the apocalypse that dared to flip me off.

Shit I'm still thinking about her.

I took a deep breath and focused on the one thing that would surely clear my mind of her, hunting.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

'Can I maybe help with something?' I asked Lori, feeling worthless around here. I've been in this camp for about two days now, awake that is, and I had seen everyone do their own jobs. I've been wondering what I could possibly do to be useful around here and have come up with nothing, it was driving me crazy. I can only live with my thoughts for so long. I have to have something on my hands.

Lori looked up at me, from the clothes she was placing over a wash line to dry. Everyone else had turned me down today, saying I should go easy on my shoulder. Lori however saw I was going crazy like this and smiled, 'Sure. You can help me with putting these clothes up if you want to.'

I grinned and took some of the clothes from the basket they were in. 'I would've never thought to be happy with hanging clothes out to dry.' I said with a chuckle. She laughed as well, leaving us to work in a comfortable silence.

I had become quite good friends with her, even though she was older than me. Well I guess ages don't really matter anymore during the end of the world. She had told me her story, about her son and her husband, even about Shane. She said she'd never told anyone but that she needed someone to talk to once in a while. I told her I would be there for her whenever she needed me. I've always been there for people, even in high school. It was better to listen to other people's problems and helping them than thinking about my own and how I couldn't help myself.

'You know, Carl loves you already. I don't think he's ever liked someone this quick, not even his babysitters.'

I smiled at Lori, 'I like him too, Lori. He's a really sweet kid, and tough.'

Lori smiled sadly, 'It's sad how the kids have to grow up so fast all of a sudden.' She muttered.

I nodded, agreeing with her but not saying anything.

'Zayn doesn't even look his age anymore.' She said suddenly, eyeing me.

'I know, I hate to see him like this.' I frowned, 'On the other hand, it will prepare him for survival, which is a good thing.'

'Is survival really a good thing when they have to give up who they are?'

I looked at her, surprised. I knew what she meant. Children were supposed to play together, laugh and have fun. Kirra still knew how to have fun, but when would she change, like Nico and Zayn had? It was only a matter of time, I knew, and that was indeed sad.

'Survival is not giving up who you are.' I told her. She looked up, taking a pair of pants out of the basket. 'It's finding a way to _be_ who you are.'

I hung a shirt over the wash line and frowned, 'You see, if they don't survive they will never even have the chance to find out who they are.'

Lori stayed silent, mulling over what I said I guessed, and we finished the work like that. When I was done I smiled at her, grateful. 'Thanks for letting me help out Lori, it feels good to do something again.'

Lori smiled back at me, 'Of course.'

She gestured towards the car seat that was outside, 'Want to sit down and talk a bit?'

I nodded, sensing she wanted to ask me something and wondering what it could be. When we sat down she looked up at Dale, who was surveying the area like he always seemed to do.

'Do you believe the kids will have a time where they don't have to be afraid of the undead?' She asked me quietly.

I thought about that a second before answering. 'I believe so, yes. Humans have gone through a lot, we can survive this as well.' I told her. She smiled at me and I smiled back. 'Plus the refugee camp up in New York is still up and running.'

She looked surprised at the news and I explained to her how the soldiers had come to my house and how Sarah had gone with them.

'Well if the military is actually that stupid I don't think I would want to be anywhere near them.' She muttered. I chuckled and shook my head, 'But they did lead me here, which is a positive thing.'

'It is.' She said with a smile. Then suddenly her face turned serious. 'Andrea told me that you lost your bags.'

I guess that even here nothing that you say will be kept secret. I nodded slowly, 'They must still be in the car, if no one has taken them that is.'

'And you don't know where your car is?'

I shook my head, 'I have no idea how to get there from here, Daryl should know but I haven't asked him yet.'

'You can trust Daryl, he won't just let something happen to you if he can prevent it.'

'I don't think he will. I don't think he will want to go get those bags either though.'

It was true. I might find Daryl an asshole but he did save my life. After endangering it himself though, but that was beside the point. I would trust him with my life again, and I was pretty sure everyone here would, even though they didn't all like him. I haven't really spoken to him since I called him an asshole, and I didn't mind. I was kind of nervous about talking to him again though, and asking him for a favor. _That _would surely be interesting/

'Just ask him. I'm sure he won't mind.' She didn't sound so sure but I ignored it, getting up and telling her goodbye. Then I headed over to the other side of camp where he would be making his rounds.

The system of protecting the camp had been explained to me, I knew when who would be doing the rounds to check if there was any activity. Right now it was Daryl's turn which meant I would be able to find him somewhere around this place.

I was fidgeting with my hands and found that annoying. I have made my way through my neighborhood, with walkers all around, without feeling scared. I've been in situations way worse than this, and I hadn't feared those even the slightest bit. Right now though, the thought of talking to Daryl and asking him to help me retrieve my bags was making me nervous and I didn't like it.

I found him leaning against a tree, scouting the area his way, looking rather bored.

'Princess,' he greeted me with a smirk.

I nodded in return.

I didn't understand what was his problem, why he kept calling me princess, but I did understand that he was able to make me want to hit him whenever he opened his mouth. Normally I was able to keep in control of my emotions. Around him, not so much.

'I need your help.' I said, not really liking the taste the words left in my mouth. I didn't often ask for help, mostly because I didn't like to. I had my arms crossed over my chest so I couldn't fidget with my hands anymore and looked sure of myself. Truth is I wanted to spin around on my heels and get the hell away from here.

'What would you need my help with?' he asked, one eyebrow raised.

_Calm now, _I thought to myself and I forced a smile.

'I need my bags.'

He looked confused for a moment and waited for me to continue.

'My bags, they were in the car I was in before I got shot. I need those back.'

'And why do you need my help with that?'

I sighed, 'Because you're the only one who knows how to get to that car from here. Otherwise I would have to search the whole road for the damn thing.'

His face changed back into a smirk, 'In that case, start searching princess.'

I narrowed my eyes at him and glared, he just kept smirking in return.

'Fine.' I said throwing my arms up in frustration. 'Thanks for nothing.'

'You are very welcome.' I could hear that he was quite amused by the whole situation.

'Asshole.' I hissed, not sure if he could hear me or not, but not really caring either way.

I had thought he wouldn't help but now I was certain of it. I shouldn't have even asked. I should've gone to Zayn and ask him if he remembered the way right away, then go alone when I knew how to get there. I would go and find Zayn now though. The only problem I was having is that I had not weapon to bring with me, and going unarmed wasn't what I wanted.

I saw Daryl's truck, with a black duffle bag in the back. I stared at it a second before deciding it might contain a weapon I could borrow. I opened it and soon found it was exactly what I had though, a bag full of guns.

'Well, as long as _he_ won't help me his gun will at least.' I muttered with a smirk of my own this time.

Now to find Zayn.

**Daryl's POV**

I was still smirking when I got back to camp, wondering if she would be sulking right now. I looked around but didn't see her helping anyone, maybe she'd be in her tent. I didn't go look though, not really caring all that much what she was doing. Thinking she could just come up to me and ask for my help because she didn't want to get her hands dirty, yeah right. Maybe if she had come back and begged me, that would've at least been funny.

I went up to my truck and jumped into the back, taking the bag with guns I had. I started cleaning and reloading them so that when I needed a weapon they'd be ready. While I was doing that my thoughts went back to the past few days.

Princess hadn't really done much, except help Lori with the washing and playing with the kids. I wasn't in doubt anymore, she was in no way a tough chick. Of course I still didn't know a lot about her, hadn't talked to her since the breakfast thing, well up until she came to me asking for help. I scoffed, still not believing she thought I'd go get her bags for her. She'd looked pretty pissed off when I'd said no, I chuckled at the memory. She was probably used to getting what she wanted.

Suddenly I was pulled out of my thoughts by a boy standing in front of me. It wasn't the kid who'd threatened me with a knife, but his younger brother, of which I still didn't know the name. He never said much, be surprised if he said anything.

I started off ignoring him, thinking he would leave pretty quick if I did. He didn't. Instead he kept staring at me with big blue eyes, waiting for something.

'What's up kid?' I asked him, checking the gun I was holding for bullets.

'Kate.'

I almost dropped my gun, did he just say something? It hadn't been louder than a whisper though and I had no idea if I'd imagined it or not.

'What was that?' I asked, putting the gun down and kneeling in front of him so I could hear him better if he talked again. Like I said, he doesn't say much. Which meant he must have something damn important to say right now.

'Kate, she's gone.' He whispered. His voice was soft and shy, but his eyes were piercing me with such ferocity that I wondered what was going on in that little head of his.

'Where has she gone?' I asked, confused.

The kid stared straight into my eyes as he said where she'd gone. Well not precisely, he actually just said one word, but it was enough to make me curse. I quickly straightened and grabbed my crossbow from the passenger seat where I'd put it before, thinking that if there was an attack I would have guns all around me anyway.

I didn't give the kid a second glance, instead I started for the woods, sprinting. The word the kid had said haunting me. _Bags. _

She wouldn't have, would she? Would she really be stupid enough to go and get those stupid bags herself? Why would she do that?

I cursed again as I stopped and glanced around for something I recognized from last time I went this way. I quickly saw the tree with a split trunk and headed right.

Last time I went here was to kill some walkers, now I was hoping I wouldn't come across any because that would take time.

When I saw her a wave of relief flushed over me. She was looking around, thoughtful. She probably had no idea where to go. I calmed my breathing and then decided to take a step forward.

_Crack. _

She spun around at the sound of the twig snapping under my foot, aiming the gun she was holding right between my eyes.

'Is that my fucking gun?' I hissed, recognizing a 9 mil. that came from my bag. The relief I'd felt before was gone, I was just really pissed right now.

Her eyes widened at first, but then she smiled sweetly, 'Well considering _you _wouldn't help me, I decided your gun would.' She shrugged, lowering the thing.

I growled at that, moving forward to snatch the gun out of her hand, wanting to yell at her that she should stay the fuck off my stuff. Her eyes widened at my movement. Good she's scared, I thought, smirking slightly. I never got the chance to get the gun back though as she raised it and aimed right at me. 'What the-'

_click_

'Fuck.' She cursed.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Author's Note: HeyHey,_**

**_So... I hope you still like reading it. If you do please review, and if you don't tell me what I can do better. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!_**

_**I know they're still not really getting along, but they will, I promise.**_

_** Maddy-MarieXO: **_** used your review for a part of this chapter, because you're right, she should go by herself. But no, she didn't try to shoot him haha. Thanks for reading :) Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

_**Again, thanks for reading.**_

Chapter 7

Kaitlinn's POV

'Fuck.' I cursed when the gun wouldn't fire. I never am going to trust someone else's gun to work ever again. You'd think Daryl would keep his guns loaded all the time, guess not always.

'What the fuck?!' He practically yelled at me. I glared at him for making noise. Glancing behind him and seeing the walker I'd spotted earlier making his way towards us faster. I noticed the crossbow he had on his back and acted on instinct, not sure if there would be enough time for him to use it himself. I took it from him and shot the walker between his eyes.

He gaped at me for a second, eyes wide. When he heard the thud of the walker hitting the ground just a few feet behind him however, he looked back.

'You shot that?' He asked, facing me again with an unreadable expression on his face.

I looked at him, confused. Why else would I try and fire the gun? Then I realized suddenly, 'You thought I was going to shoot you?'

He narrowed his eyes, 'You fuckin' made it seem like that, yeah.' He snatched his crossbow back. 'Fuck.'

He started inspecting the thing and I sighed, annoyed. 'I didn't break it or anything, relax.'

He scowled at me. 'Relax?' He asked, his voice calm but it sounded forced. 'You go out, on your own, to find your damn bags, steal _my_ gun _and_ use my crossbow all in less than two hours. And then you tell me to relax?'

I raised an eyebrow at him, crossing my arms over my chest. I was getting as mad as he was.

'You didn't want to help me, which lead me to going on my own with one of your guns, which wasn't even fucking loaded! And if I hadn't used your crossbow you might've been attacked before you were even able to shoot that motherfucker.'

He didn't look grateful though, instead he was staring me down. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself and knowing yelling wouldn't get me my bags back. This guy wouldn't either though.

I rolled my eyes and turned around, thinking of how I had no useful weapon with me whatsoever. How the hell was I even going to get to those fucking bags?

I mused about this for a second, looking around and trying to find out how I would get there. Normally it would've been obvious where the road was, with all the noise coming from the cars, but considering everyone was dead there wasn't much movement.

'Where the fuck do you think you're goin' with my gun?' Daryl asked behind me.

I turned around, smiling sweetly. 'To get my bags.' Suddenly she got an idea. 'Now, if you help me. I might even give you your damn gun back.'

He ground his teeth together. 'Fine.' He spat. 'Go that way. And hell, you didn't have to steal my crossbow to shoot the thing. I could've easily done it myself if you'd told me he was there.' He looked annoyed at the fact I had used his crossbow, and at something else that I couldn't quite place.

I didn't move, gesturing for him to lead the way, putting the gun away beneath the waistband of my jeans, not really seeing the need to hold onto it when it has no bullets. I had no other weapon with me so I would have to stay close to this guy.

The journey towards the road was made in silence. Of course it was, we were both pissed at one another. As we finally reached it though he cursed, breaking the silence. There were a considerable amount of walkers roaming between the cars. They didn't seem to have much of a purpose around here, just wandering around and looking for food. Daryl stopped, crouching next to a low bush. He seemed to be thinking about what to do, his eyes narrowed.

'Can you cover me?' I whispered, already having a plan of my own. It wasn't the greatest plan, but it should work anyway. He looked up at me as if I was crazy.

'Do you see what I'm seeing or are you blind? It's like a fuckin' graveyard out there!' He countered.

I shrugged, 'What do you propose we do then?'

He shrugged, 'I say we get the hell outta here while we still can.'

I shot him a glare. 'You want your gun back, or not?' I asked, feeling just slightly bad for blackmailing him like this.

'Hell, I have enough guns.' He said, probably thinking that if he said that I might back down. He doesn't know me all too well though.

I scowled, 'Cover me.' I hissed and then started making my way out onto the road, hearing Daryl curse behind me. I smirked at the sound, knowing it meant he would have my back anyway. He might yell at me afterwards, but I could handle that.

I made my way past the cars, trying to spot the car I'd taken here and trying to avoid being seen by any undead creatures at the same time.

Suddenly an arrow whizzed just above me, hitting a walker's head that was just a few feet away. My heart was pounding as I tried to remember which cars had been parked around mine while another arrow drove itself through a walker's head. Daryl was a good aim, I noted with a sense of amazement and relief. At least my life was in good hands.

Maybe he was right though, maybe it would've been better to just have left. It was just a fucking picture. But it was a picture I couldn't leave behind, a promise I couldn't leave behind, or could I? Right now though I had no choice but to continue my suicide mission, as I already spotted my car just about ten feet away, the blue sparkling in the sun that shone overhead.

I decided to get up and run instead of keeping low. Most walkers weren't all that fast and I thought I'd be able to avoid them. I was right, mostly. I was able to avoid the first few walkers by running past them, gliding over the hoods of cars, but that didn't work with the last few, who had gathered together. There were three walkers right in front of me, blocking the way. They were looking at me with eyes that showed no emotion whatsoever. I wondered what I should do when suddenly an arrow whizzed past me and put the middle walker down, the second arrow Daryl shot killed the one on the right, clearing a small path for me past the left one. I started running again and saw that the car was clear of any other walkers.

When I reached the door I saw, to my relief, that my bag was lying on the passenger seat exactly like I had left it. I quickly pulled it out through the window and opened the back door to take Zayn's bag out as well.

The first thing I did when I had my bag was take my gun out, the cold metal feeling familiar in my hand and I instantly felt safer. I knew it would be loaded, it always was. The first walker I saw was getting out of a neighboring car, I shot him through the head. I couldn't helpt but grin as it felt good to be able to shoot again, especially with my own gun.

I spun around to see another three walkers get out of their cars and narrowed my eyes as I aimed. It took me four shots to kill them this time and I cursed myself for the wasted bullet.

I turned back around, jumping onto the hood of my car to see if there were any more walkers around. There were still a bunch spread along the road, slowly making their way towards the sound of the gunshots. There were two close enough to shoot from here. I didn't have to though, because Daryl already did, while making his way towards me.

'Fuckin' hell girl, you can't just go runnin' towards a bunch of walkers like you're some famous zombie killer!'

'I survived didn't I?' I dared him, shrugging and putting one of the bags over my right shoulder, the other one I held in my hand.

For a moment I saw respect in his eyes, but that soon changed into anger.

'You're fuckin' crazy.' He said, throwing his hands up in the air and going over to the walkers he'd just shot to get the arrows out. I waited at the side of the road for him to return, shifting my wait from one foot to the other nervously. When he finally showed up he walked right past me, acting like I didn't exist. We walked back in the same silence we had walked towards the road with. He was mad at me and for some reason that kind of made me feel bad.

'What was in those damn bags anyway? Gold? You do know you can't sell that anywhere anymore right?'

I rolled my eyes and scowled, holding onto my bag tighter as if I was afraid he was going to take it from me.

'Medicine, guns, ammunition.' I said, shrugging.

He raised an eyebrow at the sound of that. 'And you would risk your life for that shit? Shit we already got?'

I looked up at him, 'It's the _only_ shit we've got.' I countered.

He shook his head, muttering something that sounded a lot like 'bitch', but I ignored it.

We didn't encounter any other walkers, which I was grateful for. Don't get me wrong, shooting them is great, if the sound wouldn't attract others it might even be the best thing in the world, but it still was a relief to not walk into them once in a while.

We were greeted at the camp by everyone, well _I_ was greeted. Daryl didn't even get a glance his way, nor did he glance their way, instead he walked up to his truck and sat in the rear, taking out the bag and starting to clean his guns. He hadn't asked for his gun back and I wondered if he had forgotten about it. I was distracted before being able to give it back though, by everyone asking questions.

Apparently everyone thought Daryl had agreed to coming with me in the first place. I didn't tell them that wasn't how it went, instead I just told them that it was easy. There was no need to worry them needlessly, nor was it necessary to make them dislike Daryl even more because he hadn't agreed to coming with me at all. I wondered how he knew how to come after me, and why he did but soon forgot about it again as Andrea asked me what was in the bag.

I chuckled and took everything out, handing Andrea the medical supplies, Dale the bit of food still left inside and Rick the guns and the ammunition. I kept two boxes of ammunition for my gun myself, just so I would be prepared if something happened. Never can be too safe.

The only thing still left in my bag was the photograph now. I didn't show anyone, instead I went to my tent and hid it under my pillow, making sure it was safe. I went back to the campfire where everyone was now sitting around, and smiled. It was starting to get dark and I wanted to give Zayn, Kirra and Nico their bag before it would be.

I opened it and looked past the extra clothes, Nico's lollipops and Kirra's doll, finding what I was looking for. A picture of their mother. Sarah was looking into the camera with a sparkle in her eyes a happy mother has. She was holding Kirra in her arms in the picture, Nico was holding onto her leg and Zayn was grinning into the camera, standing next to her. They looked like a happy family, pre-apocalypse. I got up, leaving them alone as one.

Zayn sat in the middle, the picture in his hands, with his brother and sister next to him. They looked sad.

I sighed and walked over to my tent. Crawling inside I threw Zayn's bag to the side and took my own from underneath my pillow. Apart from the two ammunition boxes, and my gun, I had put back in there, it was empty.

I searched around the tent frantically, thinking it might have been lost in the dark. When I couldn't find anything though, I got out quickly and looked around the tent. What the fuck happened to the picture? I had been sure it had been in the bag I'd put in. What the-

Then I suddenly heard someone chuckling, Daryl.

'Lookin' for this?' He asked. I looked up and saw that he was holding something. The picture frame. _My _picture frame.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's Note: **_

_**HeyHey living and undead creatures,**_

_**Here you have chapter 8. Hope you like it. I know Daryl and Kaitlinn are a bit hateful towards each other still, but it'll soon change. I'm working on how the story will progress in my mind. Chosen to use the CDC bit, and I'm going to be using a bit of the dialogue from the series in a few chapters, with a few changes of course to fit my story. That's about all I've got to say right now. **_

_**If you like it, please let me know. Review, follow or favorite! I appreciate it all!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the walking dead. Absolutely nothing, which I don't like but I'll just have to live with it.**_

Chapter 8

Daryl's POV

I couldn't believe she actually just ran out there after telling me to cover her, she didn't even wait for an answer. She was crazy, that was the thought running through my mind right now.

There were at least thirteen walkers out there and probably even more slumped in the cars. Now I wasn't someone to back down from a fight, but right now I was seriously wondering if she had lost it.

I couldn't ponder about that too long though, as she was already running and I had to pay attention if I wanted to cover her. Not that I wanted to, especially not considering she hadn't even asked, instead demanded it, but I couldn't just let her die out there. Other than us being stuck with the kids, everyone at camp hating me even more and the fact she still had my gun, I couldn't let another human being die if I could help it.

I cursed and aimed my crossbow, closing an eye so I would be able to focus more. I hit a geek in the head when it was coming too close. She seemed to be pretty good at avoiding them, until she straightened and suddenly started running. I cursed again, scanning the area she was running towards. I guess she had seen the car and became overenthusiastic. She maneuvered herself past several walkers when suddenly she was cut off by three. I shot two of them, hoping that would be enough for her to get past, it was.

Finally she reached that stupid car. She reached in to grab her bags when the geek I hadn't shot started to gain on her. I wanted to shoot him but for some reason my crossbow failed to work. I remembered that the girl had used it, probably having done something that caused this right now. I never let anyone shoot with my crossbow, _anyone. _Not even my brother Merle could touch it without me yelling at him. That was all because I knew it would work when I needed it, if I was the only one touching it.

'Fuck.' I cursed, inspecting it quickly so I could fix it. When I found what the problem was and was ready to shoot again I saw she already had her gun raised and she shot the one in front of her, not even flinching. Quickly she spun around and shot another two. I didn't have time to think about it though and shot two more geeks I noticed with my arrows. After scanning the area and making sure there was nothing else in the immediate area, I got up and made my way towards her.

'Fuckin' hell girl, you can't just go runnin' towards a bunch of walkers like you're some famous zombie killer!' I yelled at her, angry as hell.

'I survived didn't I?' She asked me, daring me with her eyes as she lifted her bag onto her right shoulder and held the other close.

She was right, she did survive, and she did a hell of a good job at that. I hadn't expected her to be able to do that, but I would never admit to that though, especially not to her and _especially _not when I was still pissed as hell.

'You're fuckin' crazy.' I said, throwing my hands up in the air in frustration and heading over to the bodies to get those arrows back. I couldn't waste those things, only having a certain amount. I held onto the arrows, ready to go clean them when we would get back to camp, as I walked up to the last walker I'd shot, making sure there were none around. While I did this I mulled over what had just happened. She had just practically risked getting killed for two stupid bags. Now what could be in those things that could make her do such a thing?

I wondered about this as I made my way towards the side of the road, where she was waiting. I walked passed her, acting like she wasn't there, and walked back to camp, taking the arrow out of the walker she had shot, on the way.

We walked in silence and I could hear her feet behind me, she was quieter than a lot of other campers I'd patrolled with and I wondered if she did that on purpose or if it was the fact she wasn't as heavy as those guys. While listening to her feet hitting the ground my mind wandered back to the bags she was still holding, what was in those things? Eventually I asked her, knowing that I would never find out if I didn't ask.

'What was in those damn bags anyway? Gold?' I asked, turning to face her.

She shook her head, her eyes showing something I couldn't quite place as she clamped the bags tighter.

'Medicine, guns, ammunition.' She said, sounding like she didn't care all too much about those things. That wasn't what had made her risk her life, but I doubted she was going to tell me what _had._

I raised an eyebrow at her, showing her I was skeptical and I didn't believe it.

'And you would risk your life for that shit?'

She looked up at me, eyes narrowed. 'It's the only shit we've got.'

I knew she was right, we didn't have a lot at camp but guns, medicine and ammunition, we had all of that. I also knew we could always use more, even if we had enough for the moment, soon that would run out and we'd be in trouble. I cursed her, knowing I wouldn't be getting anything else out of her and while feeling angry at her for blackmailing me with my own gun, running out there and making me cover her and not telling me what the hell I covered her for, I also felt intrigued.

After that, and after we got closer to camp, I stayed on high alert. It was funny how I was able to pay attention to my surroundings and still have my thoughts wandering off, it was also annoying. I remembered the shot she took to kill the walker behind me.

There was something bothering me about that event, and it wasn't only that she had used my crossbow to kill the thing, there was something else but I couldn't place it. The thought of her using my crossbow reminded me of the weapon she had used before that, _my_ weapon, the same thing she used to blackmail me into covering her.

I wanted to tell her to give it back, as she promised, but right as I was about to we arrived at camp.

Everyone went straight to her, ignoring me. Not that I cared, I was glad they were leaving me alone, I guess I wasn't exactly a people's person. Plus it gave me time to mull over the whole reason she had wanted to get those fucking bags, while jumping into the rear of my truck and taking out the weapons again, so I had something to do. It wasn't the damn things she was giving away now to several group members, I was sure that that wouldn't make anyone risk his, or her, life. But I didn't see her take anything else out. I wondered for a second, if she had really been telling the truth, when suddenly she got up, clamping the bag tightly to her chest. There was something still in there, I realized.

She smiled at the others and then made her way up to her tent, still holding the bag.

Now _that _got me interested.

I got up quietly, slipping away without anyone noticing, which isn't hard when no one is watching you, and heading over to her tent. I made sure to stay out of sight as I guessed she'd be heading back soon. I was right. I saw her walking back towards the campfire, without the bag this time.

It was dark already but that didn't stop me from finding the bag quickly, you'd think that if you wanted to hide something you'd find a better place than underneath a pillow.

I looked through the bag and quickly found out what she'd been hiding, a picture frame. I put the bag back and got out of her tent again, holding the frame in the moonlight to see if I could distinguish something. I saw the outline of several people in the picture, but couldn't see there faces. I did however see a smudge of some sort on the picture. I tried to wipe them off but they wouldn't come off. I narrowed my eyes and soon realized they weren't smudges, they were crosses, made with a red permanent marker.

I walked over to a fallen tree trunk, just a few feet away from her tent, and sat down. I thought she would see me if she returned to her tent, but she didn't. Instead she started searching her tent, sounding frantic, and even looked outside if she saw anything. Her face looked a ghostly white, and I wasn't sure if it was the realization that she'd lost it, or the moonlight. I guess that's the reason I drew her attention towards me.

'Lookin' for this?' I asked, my voice sounding cold with a slight hint of amusement.

I was pissed, pissed that she had led herself into a death trap for a stupid photograph. I didn't know what I'd expected, but something worth a lot more than a fucking bronze picture frame with flowers on the side.

She stared at me for a second, her hair a darker color in the moonlight than it had been when she ran between the cars. I couldn't see her eyes, but I did notice she was angry as she stalked towards me in determination.

'What the fuck, man? You think it's ok searching trough someone's stuff without their permission?' She asked, snatching the picture frame from my hand with a sneer.

I shrugged, making myself look amused rather than angry. 'Well I didn't exactly have to search.' I said. 'You should consider findin' a better hidin' spot next time if you don't want someone to find somethin'.'

She growled, 'Fuck you. You are a real asshole, you know.'

'You do seem to like remindin' me of that fact.' I said. 'But who's the real asshole here? Who is the real bitch?'

She looked speechless for a second as I rose to my feet, pointing my finger at her chest.

'You only wanted those fuckin' bags back because of this didn't you? You were prepared to put your life on the line for that? To put someone else's life on the line for that?'

She narrowed her eyes at me. 'I never would've risked your life for that.' She said, sounding calmer now than she had before. She was clutching the picture frame to her chest and I could see her hands trembling slightly. I knew what she meant by what she had said. She had let me do the covering because that would keep me safer than going for the car. I also knew she meant that she would indeed put her own life at risk for the thing.

She clenched and unclenched her jaw before turning around and stalking back to her tent.

'Why did you cross out their faces?' I asked her next, quiet and controlled. There was no getting through to her anyway, so now I just wanted to know why it was so important. Not that I expected her to tell me that.

She froze and turned back around slowly. 'Why would I tell you? Why do you even want to know?'

I shrugged, ''Cause I'm curious.'

'Curiosity kills the cat, didn't they ever tell you that in that redneck family you're from? Then again, I bet your parents were never around, regretting ever getting a kid like you!'

This time it was my turn to clench my jaw, I didn't like people talking about my family. I took a deep breath so I could stay calm and try and ignore the last part of her sentence.

'You wouldn't want to kill me, now would you princess?' I asked her with amusement that masked my anger.

She didn't look away, and kept silent. After a few seconds she sighed. 'I am actually seriously considering it right now.'

Then she turned around and left me staring after her.

I had not expected her to say that, and the truth is that it hurt more than it should. I shouldn't care about some girl who thought that a picture was more important than her own life. I shouldn't care about a girl who talked about my family in such a way. Hell, I shouldn't care about a girl at all.

I cursed and went over to my truck, ignoring the campfire and getting in on the passenger side. I'd get some sleep in here tonight, a lot better than out there with the rest of them. Fuck them.

My jaw was still clenched at the words she had said. Would she really kill me? I wondered. When she aimed that gun a few hours ago I had believed she would, but then she'd just been aiming at a walker.

A walker which had snuck up on us. Snuck up on _me._

Suddenly I realized what had bothered me so much about that walker. The fact it actually had been able to sneak up on me from behind. I should've heard him, at least heard the gurgling sound, but I'd been distracted. Distracted by the girl aiming _my_ gun at me, and looking really hot in the process.

Now distractions were dangerous in this world, which meant she was more dangerous than anyone right now and she scared the truth is that it scared the hell out of me.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author's Note:**_

_**HeyHey everybody,**_

_**So here you have chapter 9. I hope you still like reading my story! Please tell me what I can do to improve! Other than that follow, favorite or review my story please! I really appreciate it.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the walking dead, too bad but it's true.**_

Chapter 9

Kaitlinn's POV

I'm pretty good at ignoring people, I really am. I used to drive my brother crazy with it when he did something I didn't like, he would never do it again. Once I ignored my cousin for more than a week, even though he came by everyday to apologize. What did he do? He wrecked my barbie doll. What Daryl did was a lot worse than wreck a stupid blonde haired doll, he took something personal from me.

Deep inside I knew that that wasn't the only reason I was pissed at him, or the only reason that I was ignoring him. I knew he was right. I knew he was right about being crazy to put myself on the line for just a family photo. That's the reason I was so pissed off at him right now, and why I was ignoring him. He was right.

I was being childish, especially considering I still had his gun in my tent. I hadn't given it back and I wasn't planning to anywhere in the near future. The truth is however, that I didn't care how childish I was right now. Daryl had seriously pissed me off and I wanted to get back at him. Of course I had no idea if ignoring him would work, maybe he'd even think of it as heaven, but for now I was going to try and see where it takes me.

'You ok?' Andrea asked me suddenly, pulling me out of my thoughts.

She was sitting next to me while we were washing clothes. Amy was there as well, together with Jacqui. They had been talking about what they were missing at home. I'd been listening in before, but somehow my thoughts had wandered off to Daryl and what had happened last night. I had only seen him once this morning but he hadn't said anything to me, so I didn't have to openly ignore him.

'Yeah, I'm fine.' I lied, trying to smile at her.

Jacqui looked up and raised an eyebrow, 'Honey, you are not fine. What is going on?' She asked. Jacqui was a sweet woman, she cared for everyone, like she did for me right now.

I sighed, wondering if talking could make me forget about it, and made a face, 'Daryl.' I said.

Amy scowled at his name, not really liking the guy. Then again, no one seemed to. I wondered why. Except for him being an asshole, he did do his rounds well, he knew how to shoot and he had covered me when I told him to. I guess though that wasn't enough to fit into the group, you had to be social to be cared for by the others, and I had noticed Daryl rather kept to himself.

'What did he do?' Amy asked me.

I bit my lip and went on washing while thinking about what to say. I couldn't tell them exactly what had happened, or they might side with him and right now I didn't want them to, how stupid that might be.

'He went through my stuff and I found him looking at a picture of mine yesterday. I mean how can he just do that without my permission?'

Andrea was frowning, as was Jacqui.

Amy just pursed her lips, 'It's Daryl, he can do that easily. He has no manners.' She shrugged as if what I said only made sense to her. For a moment I felt a pang of guilt, setting them up against him. Even if they didn't like him all that much, I didn't have to make it worse by not telling them everything. I shook the feeling off though and focused on working again. I didn't answer Amy, but she didn't seem to be expecting a reply so I was good.

Andrea stopped after a few seconds and looked at me curiously, 'What are you going to do about it?' She asked.

I shrugged, 'Ignore him I think.'

Amy laughed, 'He's hard to ignore, being so annoying and all.' She said jokingly.

We laughed together at that and talked about less serious matters while finishing the washing. Finally I could actually pay attention, talking really did help. When my part of the washing was done I threw the clean clothes into a straw basket and picked it up.

'I'm gonna go bring these to camp, I'll help Lori with hanging them out to dry.'

Amy, Andrea and Jacqui nodded and told me goodbye as I started leaving.

I found Shane frog fishing with Carl, Zayn and Nico on my way to the camp. I walked past them with a smile, knowing all three of the kids would enjoy that. Sarah had told me that her husband, the kids' father, had left before Kirra was born. He hadn't been around much before, being away with work a lot, so life afterwards wasn't much different from before. I was good to see Zayn and Nico do something that they might've done with their dad if he had been around more.

'Ah princess.' A voice sounded from my right suddenly. I didn't look up, knowing who it was. 'I see you're doin' the laundry.'

He sounded cocky and my knuckles were turning white around the basket while trying to control my temper. I'd thought I'd be able to take a peaceful walk towards camp, I guess I was wrong about that.

'What's wrong? You mad at me?'

I still didn't answer, hoping he would soon leave me alone if I kept ignoring him. Lucky as I was he shrugged and walked away from me the moment we entered camp, which meant we'd been walking back in silence for at least a few minutes. The moment he was gone I relaxed my muscles, only then trusting them not to do something stupid, like hit him for example. I also let go of the breath I'd been holding and walked up to Lori with a forced smile.

Maybe this whole ignoring thing would be harder than I thought after all. Amy was right, he was much too annoying to ignore. Plus he didn't seem like a guy who would give up if I ignored him for long. He looked more like a guy who would keep on torturing me until I gave in and talked to him. I tried to push the thought away as I focused on hanging the clothes out to dry together with Lori.

After I finished that I helped Glenn out with his round, and we talked a little. He was a good guy and I liked him, I guessed he was younger than me, but he was smart. He seemed to be nervous though, doing his rounds. Nothing like Daryl who looked more bored than anything. Wait, why am I thinking of Daryl. I shook my head to get him out when a sound to my left made me poise my gun, ready to shoot whoever came out there. Or rather, whatever came out there.

T-Dog raised his arms the moment he saw both Glenn and I aiming at him. I sighed in relief and lowered the gun again.

'Dude, don't just come out of nowhere like that, man.' Glenn said, sounding more relieved than I felt. T-Dog muttered a quick apology and nodded, quickly making his way back to camp.

Glenn and I chuckled softly when he was gone, finishing our round and heading back again.

I saw Daryl once more that day, during dinner. I ignored him completely, even though I could feel him staring at me. I wanted to look up but scolded myself whenever I was inclined to do exactly that.

When the squirrels Daryl had caught were done I got up, saying I was tired. I heard someone follow me to my tent and soon found Daryl standing in front of me.

'Princess, you're still tryin' to ignore me aren't you?' He asked with an amused tone. 'How long do you think you can keep that up?' He sounded sure of the fact I wouldn't be able to keep it up long.

I didn't answer, instead I maneuvered my way past him and headed straight for my tent. I heard a low curse coming from behind me and had to smile at the sound. I didn't know how long I would be able to ignore him so I might as well enjoy it while it lasts. And pissing Daryl off, was fun, I had to admit. I almost understood why he liked to torture me like he did, almost.

* * *

Daryl's POV

Fuck, she just walked past me, not even glancing up. I found out she was ignoring me yesterday but had thought she wouldn't be able to keep it up long. Now it was morning and I had seen her crawl out her tent in the same way she did every other morning, trying to keep the strain away from her left shoulder. I knew she'd go wash herself and come back at around breakfast, like she did almost every day.

I had put up a smirk for her to see when she walked by, but she hadn't even glanced my way. I don't understand how her not saying a word could piss me off like it did, but I was getting angrier by the minute.

I stalked off with my crossbow to do a sweep of the area, knowing I'd end up at the lake and see her swim. I'd stay there, watching for a while, before heading back around to camp. I wasn't proud to admit I did it every day, but I did.

Today I was earlier than normal and waited for her in the woods, making sure I'd be on the path she always took to camp. She came walking up to me and even though I knew she had seen me, she was acting like she hadn't, not even slowing her pace.

I wanted to ask her to talk to me again but couldn't do that without sounding desperate, and I wouldn't sound desperate in front of her. No fucking way.

I didn't go to breakfast, instead staying back and mulling over what to do. She was fun to play with, to call her princess and have her glare at me if I did, but if she didn't talk it would have no use. Plus I actually thought she was nice, the only girl who seemed to be able to stand her ground like she did, even if at first I hadn't thought she could. She had been able to surprise me and that doesn't happen often.

I sat down against a tree, my turn for a sweep being over, and closed my eyes. I think I drifted off a bit because the next thing I know it's dark around me and my eyes have to adjust at the sudden lack of light. I got up, stretching my limbs to get the stiffness out. I slung my crossbow over my shoulder and walked back to camp, a yawn escaping my lips even after having slept through the day.

I found her sitting by the fire, alone. It must be in the middle of the night if there was no one with her, mostly Lori, Carol and Andrea stayed up past midnight. I stood there for a second, watching her. She was holding something in her hands and I quickly recognized it as the picture frame I had taken from her tent two nights ago. I coughed softly so she would know I was here and wouldn't go grabbing a gun and shooting at whoever had intruded the camp.

She looked up in surprise and caught my eye for a split second before looking away again, back down. I stayed still, looking at her. The flames gave her skin a soft glow and her eyes were reflecting the fire. They were sad. I had never seen her sad before. That's when I decided to apologize, in the hope that it would make her smile again. The chance was small, but it was a chance nonetheless.

Kaitlinn's POV

'Look Kaitlinn, I'm sorry.'

He says it with such sincerity that I have to do my best not to look up at him. Add the fact he never has said my name before and that hearing it sent a shiver down my spine, you'll know how hard it was for me not to look up.

I had been staring at the picture for some time now, getting lost in thought. He'd surprised me when he suddenly appeared.

He sighed, putting his crossbow down and sitting across from me.

'Kate, for fucks sake just talk to me!' He said, with a hint of frustration in his voice.

Maybe it was the fact I'd been thinking about everything he had said before, knowing he had been right. Or maybe it was the fact that I felt sad looking at the picture in my hands and being reminded of everything. It didn't matter why, I just couldn't ignore him anymore. That however did not mean I would be nice.

'My friends call me Kate, are you considered a friend?' I asked him, not looking up. My voice was dripping with acid, but there was also a hint of desperation in it, a hint of loneliness.

'Look Kate.' he started, putting the bow down next to him, or so I thought I saw in my peripheral vision. 'I am tryin' to apologize to you here. I don't care how your friends call you, I just don't want you ignorin' me anymore, ok?'

'Well maybe you should've thought of that before going through my stuff without my permission.' I told him, sending him a quick glare before looking down at the crosses on the picture again.

'If I recall correctly, _you_ took one of _my_ guns with you without askin' me permission.' He countered. Fuck, he was right. I looked up from the flames and saw a smirk on his face for the slightest of seconds, probably because he had been able to make me look up at him for longer than just a glance. It was gone quickly though, I guess he really wanted to apologize and not piss me off again.

'Oh come on, you would've wanted me to go out there unarmed?' I asked him, trying not to listen to my inner voice who told me to be nicer to this guy.

'That is not the point here.' He said sternly, a flare of anger in his eyes. 'You're the one pissed I went through your personal stuff, my gun was _my_ personal stuff.'

'Seriously? You're an asshole!' I said, throwing my hands up.

'And so you tell me everyday. You'd think you could think of some better swear words no?' He asked with narrowed eyes.

'Why would I, if they still apply?'

'I don't know, to be original maybe?'

We stared at each other for a moment when suddenly I felt a bubble of laughter rise. We were acting like a bunch of kids who were fighting, missing the point completely. 'You do know we're arguing about something not related to the point at all right?' I asked him softly.

He smiled a half smile, making my heart race. Damn he was hot, especially in the light the fire gave off. I pushed the thought away and chuckled again, ignoring my mind which was racing to find an explanation for the thoughts I had earlier.

'Look ok, I really am sorry for goin' through your stuff.' He said once again, looking me in the eye. I saw the sincerity in his and I believed him. I was glad we weren't yelling at each other anymore, which was _the _improvement of the night. I liked this side of him better than the arguing side.

I smiled slightly at him, 'And _I'm_ sorry to have grabbed your gun without permission.' I said. 'And for keeping it after I promised to give it back. If you want me to I can get it for you.' I gestured behind me, at my tent.

He shook his head. 'That's ok,' He said, smirking again. 'You need somethin' to keep yourself safe with, princess. I don't want to be responsible for your death 'cause I took my weapon back.'

She scowled at him but a laugh escaped anyway. They stayed in silence for a moment before she dared to ask.

'Why do you call me that anyway?'

He looked up, clearly confused, having been taken out of his thoughts. I couldn't help but wonder what he had been thinking about, but that question wasn't exactly something she would like to answer herself, so she didn't ask him either.

'What? Princess?' He asked, I nodded. 'Because your name sounds like a stuck up rich girl's.'

I raised my eyebrows at hearing that and laughed. 'For real?'

'Yep.'

'That's a horrible prejudice.'

He grinned, 'Redneck remember.' He said, pointing at himself.

I laughed but then remembered what I'd said about his family during our fight and felt bad about it instantly. 'I'm sorry about what I said about your family.' I told him softly.

He cocked his head to the side, and shrugged. 'That's ok.' He said, but I still thought it wasn't. I wanted to do something to make up for it, and then decided to tell him. To tell him why I had wanted that picture back so bad. I mean he _had _helped me retrieve it. I fidgeted a little before sighing,

'You wanted to know why I crossed their faces out right?' I asked him.

His face changed and he shook his head, 'If you don't want to tell me you don't have to.'

That made me laugh, 'You know what?'

'Hmm?'

'Maybe you're not the asshole I thought you were.'

This made him laugh as well. Who would've thought I'd be telling my story to a guy who I had previously labeled as an asshole, several times to be precise. I sighed again, and wondered how I should begin this.


	10. Chapter 10

**_Author's Note: Hey everyone, so this is an early chapter, or two in one day, depends on whatever you want. The reason? I freaking want to continue this story because I have ideas and ideas and ideas. This chapter is about Kate's story, hope you like it. Please let me know what you think, review, follow or favorite!_**

**_Thank you for reading!_**

Chapter 10

Kaitlinn's POV

I've told a thousand stories in my life, for the kids I babysitted, for my friends even just for myself. Right now though I was going to tell Daryl _my _story, and for some reason that was harder than using my imagination. Remembering was more painful than thinking of things that never happened.

I took a deep breath and stared into the flames, not sure how to begin. Then I decided it didn't matter how I began, it would end the same anyway.

'The picture was taken on my 21st birthday, just 6 months ago. It's unbelievable how fast the world went to shit.' I said and put the picture frame in front of me, on the ground.

'My mother had invited every family member we had for one of her famous barbecues. She loved to make food for everyone, especially me, my brother and my father. She wasn't my biological mother, but she still was, and is, my mother. She loved us like we were her own blood and that was the greatest thing about her.  
Everyone who was invited attended the party, even some who hadn't been invited. It was great and we were all having so much fun. I got all kinds of useless presents, but there was one thing I did love, this picture frame.'

I smiled at the memory. The smiles of my family and their laughs ringing in my ears.

'My brother gave it to me. He also rounded up the family to get a picture taken so there was something I could put in it. My parents in the middle with me and my brother in front of them. We were happy that day.'

I looked Daryl in the eye, he was listening to me, his eyes had a soft edge that I hadn't seen before. I looked back at the picture and laughed without humor,

'Two months later, no one was anymore.'

I started fidgeting again, getting nervous at the memory and feeling like I wanted to cry. I couldn't though, I wouldn't, not in front of Daryl, not in front of anyone. My tears were for me and me alone.

'My mom was the first to die of the fever, she had been bitten while trying to get to our neighbor's house. She had made bread for the old man who lived next door and just wanted to get it to him so he would have something to eat, something fresh.'

A tear trickled down my cheek even after I decided not to cry. I quickly wiped it away, not looking up from my mother's figure in the picture, even with the red cross over her face I felt like she was watching me. I didn't know if I liked that fact though.

'My brother went out to get her, carrying her back inside and putting her on the bed. He had killed the walker who attacked her, the first one in our family to do so. I took care of her, held ice cold towels against her forehead and tried to treat the wound. It was no use. The CDC soon gave an official statement, about how the fever would kill the person but that they wouldn't remain dead. They'd come back alive, as one of them.'

My voice broke at the last part but I didn't stop. I actually was fairly sure I couldn't stop anymore, I needed to get it out. I hadn't talked about this to anyone and now that I was I felt like I had no choice but to continue.

'When she died we mourned, forgetting all about the warning and leaving her in that bed. One day her brother came over with his family, telling us about how all the roads were blocked and they couldn't get out. I still don't know how they got past all the walkers without getting hurt, but that didn't matter. We welcomed them in our home of course. Our mother would never have forgiven us if we hadn't.'

It was true, my mother always wanted to take care of everyone, even those she didn't know.

'I helped take care of their little girl, just two years old, while he and his wife went up to pay their respects to my father, who was still beside my mother's bed. The next thing I know there are screams coming from upstairs. Turned out my mom woke up, killed her brother first, then his wife and then my father.'

'My brother didn't hesitate, I guess I was lucky with that because I stood there, transfixed. He took me by the arm and pulled me along while running towards my father's sister's house. It was empty but safe, for now. I was still holding the little girl at the time and wondered how she would grow up, knowing her parents were killed by my mother. That wasn't something I had to worry about long though, as she quickly got the same fever my mother had had. We had no idea how that was possible until I noticed a small scratch on her arm. She died a day later.'

I swallowed the lump in my throat at he memory, hugging my arms around my stomach in an attempt to stay strong.

'We kept her inside, locking her up in the closet so that when she woke up she wouldn't be able to get out. My brother and I decided to only go out when completely necessary, no exceptions. I broke that rule a week after we came up with it, saving a family that I had known for years by letting them in. They had two kids, they're also in the picture, next to my parents. I told them what had happened and they were horrified. For the moment though they thought they were safe. _W__e_ thought they were safe with us. And maybe they would've been if I hadn't fallen asleep while keeping watch.'

I chuckled softly, feeling more like crying but not wanting to.

'I had been tired, hadn't slept in days, my eyes just closed and were glued shut. I thought there would be no harm in sleeping for a few minutes. Then the next thing I know I'm woken up by a scream that sent shivers down my spine. I went straight to where it came from, finding a walker nibbling on the woman's flesh like he was starved. I was frozen on the spot and hadn't noticed the walker coming up from behind me, my brother saved me from that thing by tackling it.'

I shook my head as the image of my brother on the ground with the thing entered my mind.

'It wasn't just two walkers though, there were so much more, and they had killed everyone in the house already. The one thing that still haunts me though is my brother telling me to run, making me turn around and leave him there, alone, with a walker on top of him.'

I stopped for a second, trying to push the thoughts away from my mind. I saw Daryl staring into the flames, a tormented look in his eyes. I wrapped my arms tighter around myself to keep warm and closed my eyes as I continued, wanting nothing more but to finish this.

'I went back a week later, found the picture frame my brother had taken with him and crossed the first few faces off, my father, my mother, my uncle and his little girl.'

'Why?' It was the first time he had spoken but I didn't mind. Somehow his voice seemed to have a calming effect on my body. The knot in my stomach disappeared as I focused on him.

'Because they were permanently dead. I killed them.'

Daryl's POV

I clenched my fists at hearing what she just said. She had killed them. She had killed her own parents. Even if they were walkers that must've been so fucking hard. I wanted to get up, to put an arm around her and have her head rest against my chest. I wanted to be able to comfort her, but I couldn't. I was glued to the seat, not able to move.

'That picture frame was the only thing that kept me alive, it showed me that I had a purpose. We had made each other a promise, my brother and I. That whoever survived would kill the walkers that our family had become, including each other. We didn't want to live like some flesh eating monsters, that was too much.' She said.

I smiled slightly, making sure she didn't notice, because I knew exactly what she meant. Merle and I had made a similar agreement, except we had agreed to burn each other too, Merle's idea of a funeral.

'When I lost it in my bag, I needed to have it back. Then you were suddenly holding it,' She paused and bit her lip. 'It freaked me out a little. And when you told me that I was crazy to go out there for something like this, I got angry. But you know what?'

I didn't answer, not sure if I should or not and choosing for the latter.

'You were right when you said that. I shouldn't have risked my life for this,' she looked up at me, her eyes hiding all emotion. 'Or yours.' I was about to protest, not wanting her to feel any worse than she was already feeling.

'I should've thought of other things that made my life worth something. Like protecting Zayn, Kirra and Nico.'

Ah, so his name was Nico. It was a thought that didn't belong in this whole thing and it passed quickly. Her eyes found mine and she forced a smile.

'Thank you for listening to me, I know it's a long story. I actually haven't told anyone this before.'

Did she just blush? I thought to myself but dismissed it as it being the flames that illuminated her face like this. I dismissed my heart, that stuttered at hearing I was the only one she ever told, to the fact I couldn't believe she'd been holding onto it all by herself for so long. She got up stiffly, hugging herself with her arms. 'I think I'm going to sleep.'

'Do you still have my gun?' I asked before she could leave.

'Yeah, you want it back?' She sounded a bit confused, probably because she'd proposed to get it back for me before and I'd declined that offer.

I shook my head and motioned for her to wait here. I quickly went to my truck and grabbed some ammunition for my gun. I knew she had her own, but now she had an extra to feel safe with. After all she's been through she should feel safe. Man, I was feeling sympathy towards her and that was something I didn't feel often.

I handed her the ammunition when I got back and she chuckled softly, trying to act normal again.

'Thanks.' She muttered, looking me in the eye. The side of her face was lit by the flames and I can't describe how beautiful she looked. Even though it was dark I could see her eyes sparkling with a sadness that her face would never show. It made me want to reach up and caress her cheek, to tell her it was all going to be ok. I didn't however, instead I told her goodnight in a whisper. She quickly looked away and nodded, leaving me behind with the flames. I sat down where she had been sitting before and sighed, resting my head in my hands. Then I suddenly noticed something in the flames. A picture frame.

'What the hell?' I muttered, not thinking as I reached out into the flames and pulled the frame out, cursing at the heat. I quickly threw the thing on the ground, getting up to find the bucket of water that had been put here to put out the flames, I quickly put my hand in it. It was cool water and after a few seconds I took my hand out again, the burning pain having disappeared mostly.

I went back to the place I'd been sitting before and took the picture in my hand. It had burn marks on the sides. I examined the thing, now able to count the crosses on it.

There were 6. The only people who weren't crossed out was a young woman which I instantly recognized as Kaitlinn. She looked good on the picture, happy, though she had looked happy almost every day at this camp. Nothing that showed what she had to do in her life. Even in the picture though I noticed a small hint of sadness in her eyes, not understanding why. At the same time I wondered what she would look like if she was happy, actually happy, but I probably would never see that.

I narrowed my eyes as I inspected the rest of the photograph. A young man next to her, her brother I guessed, hadn't been crossed out either. A woman holding a baby was clean as well, except for the cross over her baby's face. That probably was the two year old girl she'd told me about. The woman's husband was crossed out as well.

There were two more children on their with crosses and an older man with his arm around an older woman which were clean. I wondered if they were dead or not, she hadn't said anything about them, maybe I should ask her. But then she would know I saved the picture frame she clearly wanted gone.

I shook my head as I got up, heading to my truck to put the frame away. I would keep it. Maybe to give it back later or maybe because it was the thing that showed me she was anything but what I'd thought her to be. I didn't know why but that didn't matter right now.

I was about to put my crossbow in the truck as well, knowing Shane, Rick and T-bone were sweeping the area now, when suddenly a scream filled the air that made my blood run cold.

What the hell?


	11. Chapter 11

_**Author's note: Hey guys/girls**_

_**So again there are a few things that can be recognized in the series, like more chapters have, or will have. I hope you still like reading my story, please let me know if you do, and if you don't tell me the reason so I can improve! I'm sorry the relationship between Daryl and Kaitlinn is going so slow, but I just want them both confused as hell before anything really happens. It will happen though, I promise! Please stick with me here.**_

_**Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! Oh and thank you so much for the guest reviews! and the follows! I love to see/read them.**_

Chapter 11

Kaitlinn's POV

I would've never thought I would be telling anyone my life story over a campfire, especially not Daryl. Then again, I hadn't thought he could be nice either, which, thinking of the bullets he'd just given me, he obviously could be.

I loaded his gun, which I had kept under my pillow with my own even though it wasn't loaded, and inspected it for a second. It was clean and had been taken good care of, something that screamed Daryl at me for some reason. I smiled, thinking of how his eyes had looked worried when he had given me the ammunition. How the fire had made his face even more handsome than it normally was, if that were even possible. How I'd wanted to lean in and rest my head against his chest, my stomach doing a backflip. I shook my head to get the thoughts out, I shouldn't be thinking those things.

I lay back down and thought about tomorrow instead. How would he act towards me? Would I be able to see he felt sorry for me, because I did not want that. I hated seeing pity in the eyes of others, that's the whole reason I never told anyone my story. Daryl however I had thought to be a person who wouldn't do that, but for some reason now I started to doubt that. I had an idea that if I saw pity in _his _eyes I would feel worse than if I'd see it in anyone else's eyes.

I shooky my head again, deciding to try and get some sleep instead of worrying about things I couldn't change anything about anyway.

I only just closed my eyes when my attempt to get some sleep was suddenly interrupted by a blood curdling scream that resounded through the entire camping grounds. I shot up in my tent and quickly grabbed both guns from underneath my pillow in a reflex movement. I got out of my tent fast, trying to ignore the sting in my shoulder. It hadn't hurt all that bad anymore the past few days, I was able to ignore it anyway, but right now the sudden movement had been too fast for the wound. I cringed but quickly recovered as I saw the thing that had probably been the reason for the scream, a walker.

He was coming out from behind the trees, and I saw more walkers coming my way already. There were more than I could count, and some were moving quite fast.

I raised my own gun and shot at the walkers closest to me. I was glad I'd reloaded my gun the moment I'd had the chance, not wanting to have two empty guns in my tent. The whole idea of having a gun would have gone to waste if that were the case.

I emptied the chamber on more walkers, not always being able to shoot them in the head, and soon had to use Daryl's gun instead. I reached back into my tent for ammunition, not wanting to have an empty gun in this situation.

It didn't take long before everyone was out of their tents, trying to get the hell away from the things that came out of the woods in groups. It was dark, except for the fire that was still lit, and it was hard to see everything clearly but I did my best to focus. I shot two more walkers, though not in the head, and ran straight towards the tent Zayn, Kirra and Nico were in. I opened the zipper and found Kirra and Nico clutching onto each other, Kirra almost crying.

'Come on.' I instructed them. But before I could say anything else my body was being jerked backwards, my shoulder burning in pain. I fell onto the ground and saw the cause for the fall, a walker hovering above me. I didn't think, just shot. I scrambled up to my feet again quickly when the walker was down and called for Kirra and Nico to get out.

'Head to the RV, get in there and close the door. Don't come out until I say so, understood.' I told them when they were finally out. They nodded.

I ushered them towards the RV while covering them with Daryl's gun, yelling at Lori to come as well and bring Carl and Sophia. I didn't get an answer and just hoped that her looking up at me was a sign that she had heard me at least.

When Kirra and Nico were inside I placed my back against the RV, right beside the door, so I could protect them until Lori came this way. I reloaded both my guns so I wouldn't be without a weapon just yet.

'Where is Zayn?' I asked not daring to glance inside in case there would be a surprise walker attack.

'He went out because he heard something..' Kirra said, her voice just above a whisper and shaking. She sounded scared and I looked at her for a split second.

'It's gonna be ok sweetie, I promise.' I told her, shooting another walker down. Truth was that I had no idea if it really would be ok. Right now, in this mess, I could hardly see it ever be alright again, but there is always a chance.

I noticed Lori running my way, ushering Carl and Sophia forward. A relieved sigh escaped as I realized she _had _heard me. I covered her by shooting a walker that came too close and instructed them to get in the RV when they were close enough.

'Lori, get in there with them.' I told her, handing her my gun, that was still half loaded, and a few bullets. 'Aim at the head, don't hesitate. I'll knock whenever I'm bringing in one of us. Don't shoot if that's the case.'

She nodded quickly and I looked at the kids, huddled together, with a grim face.

Then I turned around and closed the door behind me. I heard Lori lock it and breathed a sigh of relief once again. At least they were safe, I thought. That thought distracted me for about a second, but it was enough for a walker to grab ahold of my arm. I was about to snatch my arm back when an arrow hit the thing from the side, pinning it's head to the side of the RV. I looked up and shot Daryl a grateful glance, he nodded once before returning to his killing spree.

I unloaded my gun at a few other walkers, including some I'd already shot. During chaos, like right now, you didn't Always kill them with one shot. If that happened it wouldn't be as bad a chaos as it was now.

I looked around to try and find Zayn, not able to spot him anywhere. There were sounds all around me. The sound of gunshots, of screams, of gurgling and growling and finally the sound of death. I tried to concentrate on just one sound though, the sound of someone calling for help. Not that he had to be doing that per se, but I sure hoped he was. At least that would mean he was still alive.

I pushed the thought away while reloading my gun and ran towards Carol, who was fighting off a walker with her bare hands. She was trying to keep the thing's mouth away from her skin. I aimed for the head and killed it instantly. After pulling the body off of her I helped her to her feet. She was panting and looked just slightly panicked. 'Where's Sophia?' She asked with fear evident in her voice.

'She's fine, in the RV with Lori. Have you seen Zayn?'

She shook her head, but I wasn't sure if she really hadn't seen him or if she was just shaking the feeling of worry for her little girl off. I dragged Carol along to the RV and knocked on the door. The lock clicked and I helped her inside. After the door closed behind me again I took a look around the field.

Rick, T-Dog and Shane had returned from their rounds, probably at the sounds of screaming and gunshots, and were fighting their own walkers. I saw bodies everywhere, walkers and human. It made me feel sick but I had to shake off the feeling if I wanted to find Zayn. I already was being distracted by the walkers still stalking out of the woods, I couldn't be distracted by my own feelings as well.

The second thing that I saw was Amy on the ground, her sister leaning over her. She must've been the one screaming, I realized and felt a pang of sadness go through me. I soon was distracted though as a walker was making his way towards Andrea. I shot him but she didn't even look up, too busy with her sister I guessed.

I closed my eyes and turned away from them, opening them up again so I could focus on Zayn again. I spotted Daryl and wondered if he may have seen Zayn. He had still been out by the fire before this all happened, right? He was frowning though, and I immediately saw why. He was running out of arrows. Now of course he had a bag full of guns in his truck, which he was standing behind, but grabbing that would take time and that is exactly the thing he didn't have.

I looked around once more, seeing several arrows in the heads of walkers and decided to go get them. There were less walkers than there had been before so avoiding them shouldn't be as hard right now, especially because most were busy fighting or eating. There were however still walkers coming out of the woods.

I moved swiftly past a few, shooting the ones I couldn't get past or I thought formed an immediate threat to those still fighting. I picked up arrows wherever I came until I had 7 in hand. That's when I decided I had enough of them and headed back towards Daryl. Right when I arrived at his side he cursed.

'Need arrows?' I asked.

He looked up, surprised. When he saw the arrows in my hands though he grinned, 'Hell yeah.'

I handed them to him. 'You seen Zayn anywhere?' He shook his head taking out another walker.

'Fuck.' I cursed, wondering where the hell he could be.

I couldn't go searching for him though, not when camp was still under attack.

'Let's finish this.' I said to Daryl, he nodded once and then we both started shooting every walker in sight, only stopping to reload.

* * *

After what felt like hours it was finally silent, apart from the occasional gunshot sounding through the night as a walker that was still moving slightly was shot in the head. The kids had fallen asleep in the RV, huddled together on the floor. No one had the heart to wake them up and expose them to the sight outside, even though everyone knew they'd see it anyway eventually.

Lori was sitting on the couch, her arm around Carol's shoulder, who was crying softly over her husband's death. He had been sleeping in the tent and we guessed he'd been surprised by a walker.

I studied the area closely, making sure to linger my eyes on every body to see if was Zayn or not. When I'd had every body in the vicinity I let out a relieved sigh, at least he wasn't here, which meant he could still be alive. The only problem with that thought was that he wasn't here, which meant I had no idea where he was. I'd lost him.

I cursed, reloading my gun with the only remaining bullet I had left. Maybe if I'd asked Daryl for more bullets he would've had some, but I wasn't thinking straight at that moment. The only thing that was on my mind was Zayn, and the fact he wasn't here.

'He's not here?' Daryl asked me as if he could read minds, coming up to my left.

I shook my head, not able to answer him. I was scared, scared something had happened to him. Scared to find his body somewhere.

'Let's go look for him then.'

I looked up into his eyes and saw determination. I nodded and was about to agree when Shane interrupted.

'You can't.'

Daryl's head snapped up to him, as did mine.

'What?' He asked with a growl, exactly what I wanted to ask.

'You can't go looking for him now. It's dark and who knows what's out there.'

'Isn't that the fuckin' reason we should go?'

'Shane's right.' Rick said, coming in between Daryl and Shane who were now standing dangerously close. 'We'll send a search party out in the morning, right now we have to stay here, together. If there are more out there we will need you, ok?'

'No, not ok.' Daryl said. 'Y'all are crazy. You left my brother for dead, now you're gonna leave a kid for dead out there as well? What if it were Carl?'

Daryl was glaring at Rick with all he had but Rick didn't waver, of course he didn't, he was right. I knew he was right, but that didn't stop me from wondering what to do.

I looked away towards the woods, asking myself what I _should_ do. They might miss Daryl with his arrow, and gun, skills, but if I just snuck out of here, they might not even miss me.

I shifted from one foot to another, thinking of what to do when suddenly a kid's voice grabbed my attention. The voice was shouting something but that wasn't what made my heart stop, I recognized the voice. It was Zayn.

I didn't think, instead started sprinting straight towards where it had come from. I didn't miss the 'Kate' that had been yelled after me, but I didn't care. They would not stop me from getting to him, not now. Not when I knew he was still alive and he obviously needed help.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Author's note:**_

_**HeyHey again,**_

_**Day 11 and chapter 12, haha. I guess I'm even more excited to write it than any story I've ever written. I've decided on following a part of the story line, with my own adjustments. I hope you like it! This chapter doesn't contain a lot from the Original series, but the next chapter will. Please follow, favorite or review! I really appreciate it if you do. Enjoy reading this chapter, hope you like it.**_

Chapter 12

Kaitlinn's POV

'Fuck.' I cursed.

I was standing in the middle of the forest and the shouting had stopped, I had no fucking idea where to go now and I was freaking out because of it.

_Stay calm,_ I told myself, closing my eyes and solely concentrating on hearing anything, anything at all.

Nothing.

I wanted to sink to my knees, I wanted to break down and cry. I had given up my purpose of killing my family because I knew I had another purpose still, to protect the kids. If Zayn died now, I would've broken my promise to Sarah to keep them safe. He couldn't be dead, he just couldn't be. I'd find him and I'd bring him back to safety.

That conviction alone made me not break down, made me walk into the direction my instincts told me to go with determination instead.

After a few seconds of jogging I heard a faint calling for help coming from my right. I couldn't hear if it was Zayn, but I guessed he was the only one out here who would be calling for help so I broke out out in a sprint towards where the sound came from.

I halted the instant I reached a clearing. I saw two walkers, clawing at a tree, their gurgles filling the quiet night.

'Kate!'

I looked up and saw Zayn. He had climbed up a tree. I actually laughed for a moment. Zayn had always been a good climber, he told me once. He'd had earned several medals with wall climbing, and he had been proud of them.

'Zayn! Are you ok?' I asked him, trying to see if he was hurt anywhere.

He nodded feverishly and then pointed down suddenly, 'Look out.' He warned me.

The two walkers had turned around and were now making their way towards me. Maybe it hadn't been that smart to shout out to Zayn if he was ok, but like I said before, I wasn't thinking clearly anymore. I was far too happy to see that Zayn wasn't dead.

I pulled my gun out, remembering I only had one bullet left. I looked at the both of them and decided it didn't matter which one I'd shoot. I chose the right one and as he fell down to the ground I focused on the second walker. He hadn't even looked up when his buddy had been shot, he didn't care. All they ever cared about was food and right now that's what I was. He did however start moving faster at the sound of the gun and I knew I didn't have long before he'd reach me. I had to find some other way to kill him quickly, but what?

I looked around for something to use, which was harder than it sounds in the dark. It took me a few seconds to spot a sharp looking branch over to my right. I didn't waste time to think about it though and ran towards it. As I picked it up I noticed it wasn't very strong, but it was the only thing I had right now.

I focused on the walker who had now changed direction so he was still heading my way. I couldn't believe I was about to try and kill a walker with a branch, but I had no real choice.

'Let's hope this works...' I muttered and then charged right into the walkers arms. I knocked him over and found myself on top of him, but he didn't seem to care. His eyes were hungry and were boring into my flesh. He was trying to bite me and I was trying to keep his head away from my skin, avoiding being bitten while trying to find an opportunity to strike.

I decided there would never be a 'right time' to strike and clenched my fist around the branch. I brought it down into his eye, pushing it as far as I could. It took a few seconds before he stopped moving and I held my breath while waiting. When he did finally grow limp I let out a sigh of relief and got up.

The tree was just a few feet away and I looked up, trying to spot Zayn again.

'It's safe now Zayn, you can come down.' I said, keeping my voice from trembling.

He looked at me and nodded once. Slowly he started climbing down. I had my eyes on him, feeling anxious. I didn't want him to fall and break his neck after surviving a walker attack. That would be horrible. Not that I was so sure I could catch him if he fell, but I would at least try. Lucky for me I didn't have to as his feet were already touching the ground again. He turned around and hugged me instantly. I wrapped my arms around him, rubbing the back of his head.

'Oh god, I thought you were dead.' I whispered.

Suddenly something grabbed my foot and pulled me down, it was the walker I thought I'd just killed. Why the fuck are these things so hard to kill?

'Kate!' Zayn shouted, reaching for me. I didn't take the hand he was holding out, not wanting to endanger him as well, instead I tried to kick the walker off. It wouldn't let go though.

My leg was slowly being pulled closer to his mouth and I cursed. I was still trying to get him off and I guess that's why I didn't notice Zayn moving to the back of the walker. The thing itself didn't notice either.

'Get off Kate!' He shouted and lodged a knife into the walker's skull. The walkers let go of my leg instantly and went limp again, only this time I was sure he was dead.

Zayn was staring at his knife inside the thing and I saw tears well up in his eyes. Killing your first walker was never easy. I stumbled over to him on my knees and took him in my arms as he cried. From relief, from fear and from mourning.

'Shh, shh. It's alright, you're fine.' I was whispering. Of course I couldn't be sure if it was true, considering I didn't know what happened before all this, but right now I couldn't think about that. I'd ask him about it later, and scold him for leaving the tent at night. Now the only thing that mattered was that he was alive.

We sat like that for a while, both exhausted. Eventually he fell asleep leaning against me and I fell asleep right along with him. I couldn't help it, all my energy had been drained out of me after everything that happened. My body was shutting down and I couldn't stop the darkness from surrounding me.

* * *

Daryl's POV

'Kate, Zayn! Are you here?'

_Fuck_, I thought. _They're not here._

Truth was that I had no idea _where_ they were, none of us did. That's the whole reason we were looking for them right now.

I clenched my fists, heading into another direction in the hope to find them somewhere else.

Today was a mess, we had lost several people last night and that hit us hard. Even me, the emotionless bastard, felt horrible. Rick and Shane though felt worse. They had thought they were safe here. Even while I knew someday things would go amiss, I had thought we would have a few more weeks to go. Naivety wasn't a good thing.

'Kate! Zayn!' I called out again, just wanting to hear a reply.

I heard Shane and Rick do the same. They had chosen to help out with the search this morning. Not that I would've left them with much of a choice, they'd been the ones to tell me there'd be a search party ready. More people had wanted to help, but their help was needed at camp more than out here, or so Shane had said.

I cursed inwardly as I heard no reply to my voice. I knew I would be blaming myself if anything happened to Kate. I'd wanted to go after her, I'd been cursing myself all night for not having done so. She had sprinted off suddenly and I had been ready to follow, but then suddenly I was being held back by someone. Shane was holding me from behind, keeping me in place. I tried to get out of his grasp when Rick had told me to calm down.

'If you go after her, we'll be a man short. Now what if there will be more walkers? We need you here.' He'd said.

I'd just clenched my jaw, 'You can't be fuckin' serious!' I'd spat in his face.

He didn't budge though instead looked me straight in the eye. 'Can Shane let go of you now? Are you calm enough?'

'Fuck no I'm calm, but yeah. I'd appreciate it if he let go.'

Rick gestured for him to let go of me and I backed away from them quick.

'We'll organize a search party in the morning. Now the important thing is to stick together.' Rick had said. It was the last thing he said on the matter, until this morning when he had formed a search party.

'Fuck.' I cursed again, wanting to hit something, anything. I was actually hoping some stupid walker would come out so that I could shoot it. That however wasn't what would be best for Kate. If there were walkers around here, she might actually be dead, killed by them. I should've fucking gone after when she ran away. I cursed myself once again.

'No luck?' Someone suddenly asked. I pointed my crossbow at the one who said it, reflex I guess. Not that I minded, I actually wanted to shoot, but that wouldn't help finding Kate.

'No.' I growled at Rick. 'And if we don't find her, alive, that's on you.' I pointed at his chest while saying it, seeing just a pang of guilt in his eyes. It wasn't enough though, he should be feeling as bad as I did. Fuck him, fuck Shane, fuck everyone.

I spun around and stalked into some other direction, shouting Kate's and Zayn's name again. The only thing I could hope for right now is for her to be ok, if we were lucky Zayn was as well but he's been gone longer, plus he's a kid. I doubted him to still be alive, but I wouldn't stop looking until I found proof of his death either. I shook my head, getting the thought out. I had to be positive now, however hard it was. Right now they were both still alive, until proven otherwise.

Alive until proven dead, I thought dryly.

* * *

Kaitlinn's POV

'Kate!'

My head snapped up at the sound of my name, my eyes wide open in an instant. I saw Shane hurrying my way, his eyes widening as he saw the two walkers in front of me. He quickly recovered from his surprise though, crouching beside me and checking if I was ok.

'Are you ok?' He asked, sounding worried.

I blinked a few times and let a yawn escape as I looked around. I'd fallen asleep? In the middle of the woods? That wasn't smart. Why the hell would I have done that?

Suddenly I remembered and stopped scolding myself, instead I turned to see if Zayn was still there, he wasn't.

I cursed, getting up on my feet clumsily. Shane reached out but didn't help, probably afraid he would hurt me. That hadn't really mattered though, I hurt all over anyway, probably because of the sitting position I fell asleep in, and the running around the woods while looking for Zayn.

'Kaitlinn, answer me please. I need to know if you're alright.'

I looked up into Shane's eyes and nodded. 'I'm fine.' I croaked, 'Zayn's gone.' I gestured for the empty spot beside me. 'We've got to go looking for him.'

'No we don't. We first have to get you back to camp, so you can be treated.'

'I'm not hurt!' I yelled at him, quickly calming down when realizing yelling wouldn't get me anywhere. 'I'm fine. We have to find Zayn.'

He shook his head again and I growled, trying to get past him so I could go look for him myself, but a sharp pain in my foot prevented me from doing that. I cursed and tried to shift my weight. It was my right foot, the one the walker had grabbed yesterday. I kneeled down, cringing, and lifted my trousers. I let a sigh of relief escape as I saw there was no bite mark anywhere.

'What's wrong?' Shane asked.

'Nothing, I just think I twisted my ankle.'

'That's not nothing, come on we have to get you back to camp. Your shoulder is bleeding again too.'

I looked at my shoulder and saw he was right, the bandage was all red again.

'But Zayn-'

'We'll find Zayn later. First you have to be treated.'

I cursed, not wanting to admit he was right. I would do the exact same thing to anyone else who would be looking for someone. The only problem was that I wasn't ' anyone else' and the person I was looking for was Zayn. I saw Shane wouldn't be persuaded to act differently though.

'Let's go then.' I grumbled.

He put my arm around his neck and his own around my waist so he could help me walk. I told him to stop by the walker's side, pulling out the knife Zayn had killed it with. He would want it back later, at least I thought he would.

It took us a while to get to camp, but when we did everyone was on me, well almost everyone. I noticed several people mourning their dead, including Andrea who was sitll leaning over her sister Amy in the same position she had been last night.

I looked away, hating to see Amy lying on the ground like she was. Lori helped me sit and attended to my wounds while Shane went into the woods to bring back the search party. I would've told him to keep on looking for Zayn but he didn't give me the chance. He probably thought Zayn was dead. I would have to go looking for him myself then, later.

'What happened to Zayn?' Lori asked.

I bit my lip and tears started forming in my eyes, 'I don't know, Lori. I just don't know.'

Why had he suddenly disappeared? I asked myself, having only one answer. It would be to find help, because that was like him. But where would he have gone then? I wanted to cry once again. Zayn, Kirra and Nico had been like my own family since saving them, just like Sarah had been. Now I already lost Sarah but these kids, I couldn't lose them too.

Suddenly I heard my name being called from the outskirts of the camp. I looked up immediately at the familiar voice and for a moment forgot about Lori, who was bandaging me up. I realized on time though that I couldn't get up, so instead I opened my arms for Zayn to fall in. He hugged me close and I let my tears finally escape, I have never been so glad to see anyone in my life.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Author's note:**_

_**HeyHey zombies and other creatures out there. So this chapter contains things from the TV series, with a few adjustments so that it fits with my story line. The order might differ from the series, it just fit better like this. I'm posting this chapter today as well because I like writing the story so much. Especially when I get great reviews. That reminds me, special thanks to for the review! I didn't let her go at him though, you'll read why. Please follow, favorite or review. Tomorrow chapter 14 will be posted. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!**_

Chapter 13

Daryl's POV

When Shane came telling us that he'd found Kaitlinn I wanted to hit him. He sounded all proud when in reality he had been the one who hadn't wanted to go looking last night, the same as Rick. While Rick followed Shane back to camp I didn't, I stayed where I was, on the verge of hitting a tree and probably breaking my hand. Then all of a sudden someone comes running out at me and I draw my crossbow back so I can shoot whoever it was. He froze when he saw that and that's when I recognized him, it was the kid.

Apart from the fact he was panting, looked disheveled and his clothes were dirty, he didn't seem to have any injuries at all, which was pretty amazing. I hadn't expected him to still be alive, let alone look this good.

'Zayn! Where the hell have you been?' I asked him, lowering my weapon and walking up to him.

He was still panting, trying to control his breathing but to no avail. He pointed in the direction he'd come running from. 'Kate, she's-' He panted.

'Kate's fine, she's back at camp. Shane found her.' I said, not liking the last part of what I said at all. 'How come he didn't find you?'

The kid took a moment to catch his breath and then laughed. 'I went to look for help, but I couldn't find any.' He admitted sheepishly.

I shook my head in amazement at how stupid this kid was. First rule of survival if you're with more people, stay together. Of course I'd broken that rule myself with Merle, but I had been convinced they would keep him safe enough. Guess I shouldn't have listened to my own conviction.

'Let's go.' I said, gesturing for him to follow me back to camp. I felt just a bit proud of finding Zayn, even though Shane hadn't even gone looking for him. I couldn't believe he would just let this kid wander the woods by himself. Not that Shane had known he was still alive, no one could've known that except the kid himself, but still he shouldn't have given up the search after finding Kate.

The moment we arrived at camp he went running up towards Kate, calling out her name. She looked like she could cry when she saw him and I knew she was actually crying the moment he was in her arms. If I hadn't known any better I'd thought they were actually family. Not that you had to be blood related to feel like family, but looking at them like this I would've thought he was her kid, if she hadn't been so young.

I walked a little closer so I could inspect her, making sure she as ok. When I saw that she was I let out a relieved sigh. She didn't seem to have any serious new wounds so that was good.

I felt confused, not understanding why I cared so much, but I couldn't help it. Like I did yesterday when she ran towards the woods, the need I had felt to follow her and keep her safe, it had been strong and if Shane hadn't stopped me I wouldn't have been able to control it. Even after Shane let go I had to stop myself from going anyway, knowing Shane and Rick were right in some way. If more walkers would've come they needed all the help they could get.

I shook the thought out and inspected the area, it looked like a battle field, bodies everywhere. I put my crossbow away in my truck and took the pickaxe that Merle had put in my truck before we left. I never understood why, but it came in handy right now. I narrowed my eyes, inspecting the area once again.

_I'd never thought I'd think this_, I thought, _but time to kill some bodies._

* * *

Kaitlinn's POV

The stench of blood and bodies being burnt was horrible, but we had no choice but to endure it. Glenn and T-Dog were burning the walkers that we'd killed, though they didn't look at all happy with the job assigned to them. I sighed, looking at the RV where Zayn, Kirra, Nico, Carl and Sophie were all sleeping together, they had been exhausted. Actually we all were exhausted.

After Zayn had come back I inspected him myself, for any bite marks or scratches, luckily apart from those he got while climbing the tree he was fine. I was glad about that. He told me he had found Daryl in the woods and I'd laughed. Leave it to Daryl to find someone who he wasn't even looking for anymore, I thought with a smile.

I wanted to go thank him for bringing Zayn back, and to come look for me, but right now he was busy. He was making sure everyone/everything was dead with the pickaxe he was holding. Every time he hit the head of a body there was a crunching noise. Some of us had already thrown up at the sound, and the stench that surrounded the camping area, I was one of the lucky ones who had a strong stomach.

As I looked around the camping grounds I had to admit that we hadn't lost _that_ many people. Apart from Ed, Carol's husband who she was mourning alone in a quiet corner right now, and Amy I didn't know the deceased all that well.

I looked over at Carol and felt for her. She had gotten several weird glances from members of the group while she was crying. They couldn't understand how she could still love a man who had treated her that bad. I however didn't care what he did to her, what she felt was the important thing right now and she loved him. I felt a pang of sadness as I saw her start crying again, the same one I'd felt when seeing what had happened to Amy.

Andrea was still leaning over her sister like she had been last night, not letting us move her. Lori had walked up to her to tell her she should let us take her, but she didn't respond. She was engrossed with her sister and I couldn't blame her. I hadn't wanted to leave my brother's side either, I just didn't have much of a choice. She had.

'She still won't move?' Rick asked suddenly.

We were standing in a group of those who were working hard to get the camp back to it's normal state, which meant without the bodies covering the grounds. Dale shook his head at Rick's question but Lori was the one to answer him. 'Won't even talk to us,' she said. 'She's been there all night. What do we do?'

She was sitting on the car seat that had been stalled out, looking sad and unsure of what to do. She didn't want to upset Andrea, but she didn't want Amy to be left there untreated either. None of us wanted that.

'Can't just leave Amy like that. We need to deal with it. Same as the others.' Shane said. I didn't look up at him, still not exactly happy with the fact he had called off the search when Zayn had still been out there. I couldn't however express my anger towards him all too openly, I didn't want to cause any fights within the group. We were already vulnerable, and we would be only more vulnerable if there were internal problems.

Rick nodded, agreeing with Shane. 'I'll tell her how it is.' he said.

I wanted to protest, thinking that wouldn't be such a good idea, but he was already gone.

'Andrea,' He said. She turned to face him, her gun aimed right between his eyes. She said something but I couldn't hear what it was. Rick backed away, apologizing. When he was gone Andrea looked back down at her sister, acting like nothing had happened. Rick returned to us, looking rather regretful.

'Y'all can't be serious. Let that girl hamstring us? The dead girl's a time bomb.' Daryl said, looking at Rick like he was an idiot.

'What do you suggest?' Rick asked him, dared him was more like it.

Taking a step closer to Rick he looked him in the eye and pointed his finger at Rick's chest, 'Take the shot. Clean, in the brain, from here. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance.'

I frowned, no way. He couldn't be serious. That would surely traumatize Andrea for the rest of her life. Plus she wouldn't want to talk to any of us ever again.

'No, for god's sakes let her be.' Lori said, voicing my opinion.

She was right, Daryl's plan was pretty senseless, but he was right in a way too. It would only be a matter of time before her sister would change. Shane and Rick knew this as well, sharing a glance that showed they weren't sure what to do. Daryl looked around the group until he met my eyes. I shook my head lightly, showing him that he couldn't do that. He spat on the ground and scoffed while making his way towards Jim.

'Wake up Jimbo, we've got some work to do.' I heard him say, sounding annoyed and angry. I felt a pang of guilt go through me but pushed it away, it's not like I could agree with something like this, even if I wanted to.

'Anyone any other plan? One that doesn't involve shooting Amy in front of Andrea?' Rick asked us.

'Let her be.' I said, repeating what Lori had said earlier. It was the first time I'd spoken and I got several glances my way, but I just kept looking at Andrea. 'I'll talk to her in a while, for now just let her be. She has to process this her own way.'

Suddenly our attention was pulled towards Daryl.'Y'all left my brother for dead. You had this coming.' He yelled, throwing his hands up in the air.

'What happened?' Rick asked Morales, who had been helping Daryl carry a body.

He shrugged, 'No idea. He just suddenly started yelling.'

I sighed, 'Just leave him be, he'll come around.'

They knew it was true, Daryl's temper mostly didn't last long. When it came to his brother though, it lasted a bit longer than usual, or so I'd heard from the others. Lori had told me what happened to his brother. She also told me that when they went back there, there was just a hand left. The story was sick. I couldn't believe they had done that. However bad a man is, you don't leave him chained to a roof top! I didn't want to upset anyone by saying so however, so I kept my opinion to myself. I understood why Daryl was still pissed about that though.

I looked at Andrea again, being reminded of her because of the family bond Daryl and Merle had. I got up and slowly made my way to her, kneeling down beside her and looking at Amy's pale face. She looked peaceful in a way, as if she were sleeping. It was unnerving.

'I'm sorry Andrea.' I said quietly. She didn't react. I stayed silent a moment, thinking of what to say next.

'It was her birthday today, wasn't it?' I then decided on.

She did looked up this time, surprised. 'How did you-?'

I smiled, 'You told me you wanted to give her the present you brought with you from Atlanta.' Understanding rose on her face. 'You still can, you know.'

She looked at me and then down at Amy. She slowly got it out and held the necklace in her hands, a small mermaid pendant hanging down from it. She smiled, 'Her birthday was always like- like a week long affair.' She started. 'But I somehow always missed it. I was away at college. Or too busy for kid's parties. She'd call all excited.' Her face turned sad for a moment.

'I always said that I'd make it home, and I really always meant to,' She looked at me as if she were trying to convince me of that. I smiled at her to show her I knew she had meant it. 'But I never made it past that phone call.'

'She knew though.' I said. Andrea looked up. 'She knew you wanted to be there for her, I'm sure of it. Otherwise she wouldn't be calling every year, now would she?'

Andrea's eyes filled with tears and she smiled, 'Yeah, she knew.' She whispered, putting the pendant around Amy's neck.

'Whenever you're ready Andrea,' I said, knowing she would know what I was talking about. 'Just be careful.'

She nodded slowly and I walked away, back to the group who was now discussing something else. I was about to ask them what they were talking about when Jacqui shouted that Jim was bitten. Jim backed away from her, shaking his head slowly, obviously confused and scared. His eyes were wide and I saw that he was muttering something. He reached back and grabbed a shovel, holding it in front of him in defense.

'Calm down Jim, just let us have a look.'

'I'm ok.' Jim said, instead of listening.

He backed away some more and T-Dog grabbed him from behind, making him drop the shovel. Daryl, who had come around again from his outburst, walked up to him to lift his shirt, a fresh bite mark visible.

He backed away and T-Dog let go, leaving Jim to fall to his knees muttering he was fine.

But we all knew he wasn't, even he knew that.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Author's note:** _

**_Hey again,_**

**_Thanks again for the review , I noticed last time the name didn't appear in the author's note, so I hope it works this time. _**

_**Again there are a few things in here from the movie, there will be in the next few chapter as well. I hope you don't mind. I just finished watching the first season again, and so I used parts of it in my story. Now I don't know yet if I'll follow the second season as well, maybe not or maybe parts like I did now. Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter!** _

**_Oh and I want to know something for future chapters (very future chapters). Do you guys want Merle to come back? If so, you want him to be an asshole or to have a compassionate side as well. And do you want him to live or die?_**

**_So this is the third time I'm reading it through and making small changes, and I still don't think it's good. Anyone who has suggestions how I can make it better? _**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the walking dead._**

Chapter 14

Kaitlinn's POV

'I say we put a pickaxe in his head, and the dead girl's, and be done with it.' Daryl said, sounding like he didn't care at all. I knew he wasn't that senseless though, he couldn't be.

We were standing together, discussing what we should do about Jim like he was an animal we had to deal with. Of course he was an issue that had to be discussed but the way everyone was talking about him, it just felt wrong.

Jim was sitting in front of the RV, where Rick had led him to after we found out he had been bitten. He, up until now, had been the only one who acted normal around Jim, which I felt bad about. Jim looked lost, nothing like himself at all, and I guessed he wasn't feeling much himself either. I felt for him and bit my lip at what Daryl had said. We couldn't act just yet, we had to wait this out.

'Is that what you'd want if it were you?' Shane asked Daryl, disbelief at what he had just said in his voice.

'Yeah and I'd thank you while you did it.' Daryl shot back daringly. I knew he was telling the truth but the thought of him being bitten made me feel sick for some reason, the thought of him getting killed afterward made me feel even worse.

'I hate to say it- I never thought I would- but maybe Daryl's right.' Dale said hesitantly. He was about to continue when Rick stopped him.

'Jim's not a monster Dale, or some rabid dog.'

'I'm not suggesting-' he tried but Rick wouldn't let him.

'He's sick. A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?'

Daryl scoffed, shaking his head. 'The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be.' At the last part he glanced back, and I started tasting blood at the wound I'd caused on my lip. _But we're not sure he's 'one to be'_, I wanted to say, but was afraid to. I would have to explain my words, and I had no idea how I would do that.

'What if we can get him help? I heard the CDC was working on a cure.' Rick offered.

'I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell.' Shane said.

Rick didn't back down at Shane's attempt to say he was wrong though. 'What if the CDC is still up and running?'

Shane sighed, 'Man, that is a stretch right there.'

Rick shook his head, 'Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all they'd protect the CDC at all costs wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection-'

'Ok, Rick. You want those things all right? I do too, ok? Now if they exist they're at the army base. Fort benning.' Shane said.

I sighed, resting my head in my hands. While Lori was telling Shane that was too far away, I noticed Daryl mulling over some things. He looked at Jim and back down again, fidgeting with the pickaxe he was holding. I caught his eye and shook my head lightly, telling him not to do it. He looked surprised that I'd noticed but his look soon turned into one of determination.

'The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun, we've all seen that. The CDC is our best choice. And Jim's only chance.' Rick said, looking at Shane who had offered another option.

Daryl looked back at Jim once more and I groaned, 'Don't do it...' I whispered, hoping he would hear me and listen, he didn't.

'You go looking for aspirin,' He said. 'Do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take car of this damn problem.' He said, running back while still saying what he was thinking. He had lifted the pickaxe and everyone knew what he was about to do.

'Daryl no!' I shouted, up on my feet in an instant.

Rick and Shane moved faster than me though and were on top of the situation quickly. Rick had his gun pointed at Daryl's head. 'We don't kill the living.' He hissed.

Daryl narrowed his eyes and laughed humorlessly. 'That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head.'

'We may disagree on some things,' Shane said, standing between Jim and Daryl. 'Not on this, you put it down. Go on. '

Daryl clenched his jaw and grumbled something, throwing down the pickaxe.

He caught my eye and growled, 'You of all people should know we have to take care of this, now.' he snapped, after which he left towards the woods.

Everyone was looking at me when he was gone and I shrugged and sat back down, acting like I didn't know what he meant. I did though, very much. I'd lived it, the sudden changing of a dead body into an undead one.

I looked over at Andrea and was up on my feet again in a second. Rick and Shane both turned around, seeing exactly what I was seeing. Amy was moving. They were about to go in but I stopped them before they could, 'Let her. She knows what to do.' I told them, my voice sounding strange in my own ears. Maybe it was the emotions that resurfaced as I thought of Andrea killing her own sister, it hurt.

They hesitated at first, but then nodded. As I said, Andrea knew what had to be done. She put the gun to Amy's head and pulled the trigger, leaning back and looking at her sister's lifeless body a second later. Lori got up quickly and started heading her way but I shook my head, 'Give her some time alone. She'll come to us when she wants to.' I told her. I knew what was going through Andrea right now, she was struggling with what she did. I also knew no one would be able to convince her she did the right thing just yet, she first had to have time to grieve.

Lori sighed, probably feeling as worthless as I did. I bit my lip and turned around, walking in the same direction Daryl had went in before. I couldn't help around here anyway, not now, not while Daryl's words still lingered in my head. I had to fix this by talking to him, making him understand, if that were even possible. I wondered about that while hoping I'd find Daryl soon.

Daryl's POV

How could they be so stupid? How could they let him live? _Idiots._

The guy had been bitten, meaning he would eventually turn into one of them. He had to die, there was no doubt about it. No one seemed to agree with me though, not even Kaitlinn._ That_ was probably the thing that ticked me off most, the fact that _she_ didn't agree with me. She'd seen what happened first hand, so why the fuck wouldn't she?

I made my way through the forest until I saw a fallen tree trunk. I sat down on it and rested my head in my hands. Maybe I did lose it out there. Using a pickaxe would've been pretty damn messy, especially because he was still alive. For now.

What bothered me more than what I'd said about the pickaxe though, was what I'd said to Kate, about her knowing what had to be done. Last night I had been practically freaking out inside because I was afraid something had happened to her, this morning I'd been relieved as hell that she was ok and a few hours later I'd snapped at her already.

_Good job, Daryl. _I thought to myself sarcastically. Then again, I shouldn't be caring about it, I shouldn't be caring about her.

My thoughts were interrupted by a gunshot coming from the camp and I frowned, wondering what was going on. For a moment I contemplated going back to see if there was something wrong, but when there weren't any other sounds I figured it must've been Amy who had been killed. Finally.

'Daryl?' Kate asked, suddenly coming into view.

Her voice was soft and hesitant, interrupting my thoughts once again, and I could see that she was feeling guilty about something.

'What's up princess?' I asked her mockingly, acting like nothing had happened before. Like I hadn't been mad at her, which, I now thought, might even be the truth. Maybe I hadn't been mad at her specifically, I just directed it at her because a part of me thought she should at least agree with me. I was being an asshole, like always.

She scowled at me. 'I thought you'd stopped calling me that.' She sighed.

I laughed, 'Why, it fits you so perfectly.'

She rolled her eyes and I chuckled, 'Yeah ok, not so perfectly.' I admitted. 'Still it's a great way to have some fun.'

She was the one to laugh this time, taking place next to me. We were silent for a second as she took a leaf in her hands and crumpled it.

'I'm sorry.' She then said.

I looked up at her face, trying to figure out why she had said that. Was it really because she hadn't wanted Jim dead? I mean I had been the one to accuse her, I was the one who was supposed to apologize, which I just didn't do. Plus it wasn't strange to want someone else to live, right? She shouldn't be the one apologizing right now.

'What for?'

'For not backing you up.'

I shook my head, not believing she was actually doing this.

'You were right.' I said. 'It wasn't the right way to do it.'

She shook her head and looked me in the eye, her clear hazel eyes hiding something. 'That's not the reason I wanted to stop you.'

'Then what was?' I asked her, now utterly confused.

'Because,' She hesitated a second. 'Because there might be a chance he doesn't die. A chance that he doesn't become a walker.'

I stared at her for what felt like an hour and then laughed dryly, 'You're crazy. You told me yourself that you're uncle's daughter had died because of a single scratch. And now you're tryin' to tell me that a bite won't change him?'

She got up and glared at him, looking unsure behind the façade of anger. 'I never said he wouldn't change.' She countered. 'I said there was a chance he wouldn't. And that's enough reason not to kill him.'

I got up as well, getting as annoyed as she was, for no apparent reason. I was taller than her but that didn't seem to scare her away, something I found I liked about her. I shouldn't be thinking about that right now though. I should be focusing on getting her out of whatever dream world she was living in.

'There is no 'chance' princess.' I said it in the most menacing way I could manage, showing her I couldn't believe she was even trying to believe this herself. 'There never is. Bitten, means dead. That's the way it is. Don't try to make it a fairytale world, it's not.'

She looked away and I saw her take a deep breath before looking back at me. 'I don't-' she tried, but her breath hitched and she couldn't continue. It took her a second to return back to normal and be able to look at me again. 'I don't believe you.' She said then. 'Because I don't wanna be, I can't be-' She took another deep breath, 'the only one.'

It was less than a whisper but I heard it. I frowned, confused as well. What did she mean with 'being the only one'?

'What do you mean?' I asked. She bit her lip and shook her head. Her hazel eyes had changed from before, the slight hint of uncertainty in them having made place for a wall that showed nothing.

'I know someone who got bitten, she didn't die.' She said suddenly, her arms now wrapped around her stomach.

'What?' I asked, confused. What did she mean with didn't die? Did she-

'She got bitten by a walker, in her side, but she never got the fever. She never died.' She clarified. 'You see? _That's _why I don't want Jim to be killed. He might not die, there is a chance. There really is.' she was pleading with her eyes for me to believe her, but I could only stare. I wasn't sure if I had heard her correctly, it sounded insane.

'And you're certain she got bitten by a walker?' I asked just to be sure.

She nodded, 'I'm certain.'

'Tell me what happened.'

Kaitlinn's POV:

'There isn't much to tell.' I said next, thinking of how the hell to continue this without giving too much away. Daryl was staring at me, thinking over what I'd just said. I still couldn't believe I'd actually just said it, but now I couldn't back out of this. I had to tell him. He had to understand why I didn't want Jim dead yet. I had no idea why I wanted Daryl to understand me so bad, and I was pretty sure that before last night I wouldn't have cared if he was mad at me or not, but now I did.

'She got bitten by a walker in the early stages of the infection.' I started. 'The news hadn't yet announced that the causes for infection were bites and scratches, and so the wound had been treated like a dog wound would've been. She was checked upon daily for any signs of illness, but there were none.' I paused gauging Daryl's reaction. 'She didn't have a fever, she didn't die. There was nothing wrong with her other than the fact she had teeth marks in her side.'

I waited for Daryl to say something, anything. To tell me I was crazy even, I didn't care what he said as long as he said _something_. I was getting nervous, fidgeting and biting the insides of my lip again.

'Well that's new.' He then said, 'Haven't heard that before.'

I laughed without humor at his answer, not having expected him to answer like that at all. 'Yeah, me neither.' I replied dryly.

He looked at me, his blue eyes not betraying what he was feeling whatsoever. 'I don't know what to say.' He said then, which seemed to surprise him as much as it surprised me. He laughed, 'It's fucked up, but maybe it's only logical.'

I raised my eyebrows, not sure what he meant.

'Where there is a disease, there are those who are immune to it.' He said, shrugging. He sounded smart all of a sudden, which was really out of character, and I had to stop myself from laughing,

'Doctor Daryl Dixon.' I said sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood.

He chuckled and shook his head, 'No thanks, hospitals scare the shit out of me.' He winked and got up.

'Now they're gonna be buryin' the dead soon, even if I'd rather see them burnt.' He made a face, 'Let's go back before they start missin' us.'

I smiled slightly, nodding. 'Burying is more personal than burning, you know. I get why they want that.'

He scoffs, 'They're dead, what does it matter?'

I didn't answer. Instead we walked back to the camp together in silence. I didn't mind though and neither did he seem to mind. My thoughts started wandering while we were walking. Maybe he really wasn't an asshole. He just had some outspoken opinions and his own ways to deal with things. He's a good guy, that's for sure. Now I wondered though what he was thinking behind that mask he seemed to be wearing. What was he thinking about the girl who got bitten and survived? What was he really thinking about me? And what would he think if he knew I was that girl?


	15. Chapter 15

_**Author's note: Yeah, so because I didn't completely like the last chapter I posted I decided to post this one as well, hopefully it makes up for it. I'll ask the same question here, do you readers want Merle back? And how do you want him to be? The asshole everyone believes he is, or does he have a compassionate side as well? And do you want him to die, or live? I have several ideas for later chapters involving him, but I could get by without him so just tell me.**_

_**Other than that this chapter has lines from the original series in them, I do not own those lines, just use them for my own story. **_

_**I guess that's about all. Review, Follow and favorite please. I appreciate all of it! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

Chapter 15

Kaitlinn's POV

I didn't follow Daryl to the funeral. He helped bring the bodies there, but I stayed back instead. I decided to take care of Jim, not feeling up to saying goodbye to Amy. I might not have known her all _that _well, but she still had been a friend. I said goodbye to too many people already, I guess eventually it's just enough.

Jim was burning up already, the fever getting higher by the minute. I knew it was already too late, there was no way he was going to survive this. Even if we did find the CDC, we wouldn't be on time. He would be dead before we reached it.

'Hey Jim?' I asked, wanting to keep him busy. He looked up at me with distant eyes, sweat dripping down from his face. I put a cold towel over his head, trying to cool him down more. 'Tell me about your family.' I said softly. 'What were they like?'

He smiled slightly, remembering the good times I guessed. 'They were great. My two boys would be starting high school soon, and we were so proud of them. They were bright, my boys, bright as my wife was. Y'all would've liked them, my family. And they would've liked you.'

I smiled, wiping the sweat of his face and returning the towel in the bucket of water. Suddenly I heard a whimper coming from his mouth and I looked up at him. 'Oh no...' he muttered. 'Please not this..' He started rubbing his temples, trying to get whatever image forming in his head out. 'Just leave me alone, please.' He begged.

I frowned, taking the towel and pressing it against his face. 'Jim, it's ok. You're safe. You're not alone. They're just memories, they can't hurt you.'

I was talking bullshit though. Memories could hurt you just as bad as anything else. As anything real. I kept dabbing at his face, seeing the fear in his eyes and wanting to do something to make him feel safe. I couldn't however, the only thing I could do was keep him cold with the towel, until he finally would fall asleep. After about ten minutes of whimpering and groaning, and me wiping the sweat off his face, he slowly drifted off. When he was snoring softly I let out a relieved sigh, glad he finally had some peace.

Suddenly I heard a sound coming from outside. I frowned, knowing everyone was at the funeral, at least I thought they were. I took my gun and got up from the chair I had put beside Jim in the RV. I checked the gun for bullets, making sure I'd be ready to use it if I had to. Slowly I got out of the RV, seeing a figure in the corner of my eye and snapping my head, and gun, up at it. It was Daryl, leaning against the RV.

'Fuck, you scared me.' I said, letting go of the breath I'd been holding. He didn't chuckle though, as I had expected him to do. 'What's up?' I asked, the frown returning to my face.

'They're all at that damn funeral. I can't believe they'd just leave the bodies there. What if they wake up?'

'You smashed their heads, how should they-'

He didn't let me finish, just threw his hands up in the air. 'Hell, I don't know. Dead used to be dead, like gone forever. It isn't anymore, so what would stop the undead from rising again?'

I bit my lip and sighed, 'Fire...' I whispered.

He nodded, 'Yeah, but those dumbasses aren't even thinking about that. They just need to be all sentimental, like that damn chinaman with his 'We don't burn our own people' shit.'

He sounded annoyed, aggravated and angry all at the same time. He took a cigarette out of his pocket and I raised my eyebrows at the sight. I hadn't even known he smoked. Not that it surprised me, it actually fit him pretty well, but still. He lit the cigarette using a match and took a long drag. Damn he looked sexy. Shit I shouldn't be thinking that. I shook my head and focused on trying to explain it to him instead.

'They love the people their burrying Daryl. They care,' I wanted to continue but he interrupted me again.

'You don't think I care? You don't think _I _want to mourn them? Fuck I'm not a senseless bastard. I freaking-'

I slapped him in the face and he stared at me wide eyed, the smoke of his last inhalation slowly leaving his mouth as he did.

'What the fuck was that for?' He asked, enraged.

I crossed my arms and looked him in the eye, 'You were ranting. Now let me finish this time.'

He narrowed his eyes, but nodded anyway. I guess he knew he had been ranting, not that he would ever thank me, that wasn't like him at all.

'Thank you.' I said next, 'Like I was saying, they care for those bodies. Not everyone can say goodbye when they don't have something to say goodbye to. It's harder to say goodbye to ashes rather than bodies. Rather than the people they loved.'

He looked away, knowing I was right and probably hating it.

'I never called you a senseless bastard by the way,' I continued, again trying to lighten the mood, and maybe trying to make up for the slapping him part. 'That one is on you. But I might add it to the long list of names I can call you. Right beneath asshole maybe?'

He looked at me, astonished for a second, until he noticed I was joking and he laughed. 'Fuck you.' He muttered back jokingly, shaking his head and inhaling again. I chuckled, winking at him,

'You would want that wouldn't you?'

Then I went back into the RV, leaving him speechless with the cigarette hanging out of his mouth, completely forgotten.

* * *

'I've been thinking about Rick's plan.' Shane said. We were sitting in a circle this time, around the campfire, and had been sharing stories about those who died, remembering them. It was almost dark again and everyone was on edge after what had happened last night, glancing around every few seconds to make sure nothing was coming their way. No one mentioned the attack though, that was the elephant in the room.

Everyone's attention had now turned to Shane, who seemed to be debating what to say next. He hadn't said much before so we were all listening carefully.

'Now look,' he started. 'There are no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that.' He paused a second, sharing a glance with Rick. 'I've known this man a long time. I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together.'

He sighed and looked around the group. 'So those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning. Ok?'

It was silent for a moment.

'Is that all we can do? Just hope for safety?' Carol asked, her voice sounding hoarse from the crying she'd done over her husband.

'Isn't that the only thing to do in a crisis?' I offered.

No one answered. I sighed and looked around. 'Look,' I said. 'We're alive here. And I know for a fact we are not the only humans left. That means that somewhere there are more, and the chance is high there are large groups of people as well. Refugee camps set up by the government, CDC labs, army bases. All of those places can be safe. And maybe we won't locate the safest place immediately, but we'll get there eventually.'

There were several nods around the circle and I smiled. 'Humanity has been through a lot, we fell down but we always got back up again. We'll do so again, with crutches if necessary.' This drew some chuckles from the group.

'What about New York then?' Lori asked me.

I shrugged, 'I don't know.'

'What _about_ New York?' Rick asked.

I looked at him and smiled, the kids were in my tent. They hadn't wanted to sleep alone so I told them they could sleep with me. I could freely speak without them hearing me right now, which was good because I didn't want to remind them of their mother too much in case something had happened to her while she was being moved to New York. Not that I would ever admit to that, except maybe when I saw her body somewhere. Ok, I did not want to think about this. I pushed the thought far away and focused on Rick.

'Sarah, the kids' mother, she was saved by two soldiers who said there was a safe haven up in New York. Walkers infested the place though before the kids could climb onto the truck, so they had to leave. Those soldiers had said New York was safe, that heading up there was the smartest thing you could do. I'm not sure if they knew for a fact it still was safe, but they sounded pretty sure of themselves.'

Rick shared a glance with Shane. 'That's fucking far.' Shane noted.

'I'm not saying we should go there, not at all. I'm just saying that if Rick's plan doesn't work out, and yours doesn't either, then maybe we should.'

They nodded, 'That's a lot of 'if's.' Shane said.

I grimaced, knowing he was right.

'It doesn't matter anyway, I'm sure we'll find something at the CDC.' I said, trying to sound confident. I got up and smiled at everyone, 'I'm gonna get some sleep, see you in the morning.' They nodded and said goodnight as I left for my tent, wondering if the CDC was really safe. What were the chances of a building surviving this thing? I would say not all too big.

I sighed, opening the zipper and finding all three of them still wide awake, waiting for me to arrive. I lay in between Kirra and Nico, Zayn was next to Kirra. It was cramped but I loved it anyway, it felt safe.

'Kate?' Kirra asked with a yawn.

'Yes, sweetie?' I answered.

'Will we find mom again?'

I looked at her. She had her eyes closed and she was about to drift off. 'We will try honey, we will try.'

But if we went down to the CDC, would I ever get the chance to go up New York again? Or not...

* * *

Daryl's POV

'Those of you with CB's, we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down ok? Now you got a problem, don't have a CB, can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?' Shane was explaining the things everyone had to know. I wasn't really in the mood for listening though, my thoughts were with what Kaitlinn had told me yesterday, about someone she knew being immune. Truth is it didn't surprise me, I was just wondering what that would mean for the rest of us, the ones who weren't immune.

My thoughts were pulled back to the rest of the group when Morales cleared his throat.

'We're uh-' he hesitated for a second and looked at his wife. 'We're not going.'

I raised my eyebrows at hearing this, as surprised as everyone else.

'We have family in birmingham. We want to be with our people.'

Shane nodded slowly, 'You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back.' He said.

'We'll take the chance. I got to do what's best for my family'

'You sure?' Rick asked.

'We talked about it. We're sure.'

He didn't sound fucking sure though. But then again, no one did anymore.

'Stop biting your nails.' I looked up to my right at the whisper and saw a smiling Kaitlinn. 'You're ruining them.' She continued.

I shrugged but pulled my hand away from my mouth anyway. I hadn't even noticed I was doing it.

'All right.' Rick said, 'Shane?'

'Yeah all right.'

Kaitlinn's POV

I heard Rick and Shane talk about what gun to give Morales. When they gave him the gun, and a box of ammunition, Daryl scoffed. I shot him a look but he wasn't looking at me so didn't notice.

For some reason I didn't like the fact he wasn't looking at me. I had been looking at him, shooting glances every few minutes. He was wearing a light brown plaided shirt with no sleeves and he looked good. I shook the thought off, making my way to Morales' wife and smiling. Lori had just hugged them all and so I gave her a hug as well, muttering a small thank you. I gave the kids a hug also, having spent time with them too. Morales hadn't been on top of the list of people I saw most in a day.

Actually that would be Daryl, funny enough. He just seemed to be around whenever I was. Not that I minded, apart from being an asshole sometimes he was ok. More than ok, he was nice actually, could be anyway, if he wanted to.

'Ok, if everyone can please let me know who they'll be driving with?' Shane suddenly called out. 'Those who have a car will be driving their own vehicle, others let me know now please.'

I didn't really pay attention as to who would go in the car with who, except when it was the kids' turn. Zayn would be going with Rick, Lori, Carl and Sophia who were traveling together. Kirra and Nico would get in the RV with Jacqui, Jim, Dale and Glenn. I was glad the kids were being taken care of, it meant that if something ever happened to me they would be in good hands. Ok, where did _that _thought come from. Nothing was going to happen with me, it couldn't. I had too many things to do.

'Kate, if you want to you can drive with me?' Shane offered when arriving at my name. He had pulled me out of my thoughts and for a moment I didn't know what to say. Not that I got the chance, Daryl didn't give me one.

'She's driving with me.' He snapped at Shane, who raised his eyebrows in surprise.

His jaw was set and he looked at me for confirmation. I smiled, 'You heard it.' I said with a shrug, not really seeing why not. Daryl was better than Shane anyway, for some reason I didn't feel as comfortable around the nice guy as I did around the asshole. Logic must've left me.

Shane shook his head slightly while writing my name down and I looked up at Daryl for clarification. We hadn't talked about this so why did he suddenly say it? He wouldn't look at me though, instead he turned around and headed for his tent, to break it down I guessed. I didn't get the chance to go after him as Kirra came running up to me.

'Why can't we come with you and Daryl?' She asked innocently, with a hint of fear in her tiny voice of being separated from me. 'I don't want to be in the RV.' She pouted and I sighed, crouching down.

'But if you're not in the RV Nico will be all alone. Don't you think that would make him sad?'

She looked away at Nico, who was sitting with Zayn, Sophia and Carl.

'He would, wouldn't he?' She asked slowly, the wheels in her head turning. Suddenly her face brightened and she grinned, 'Ok, I'll keep him happy.'

I chuckled and kissed her forehead, 'You do that. Now go play with them, I have to go pack these things up.'

She nodded eagerly, running towards the others. I straightened and looked around camp. Everyone was working together, breaking tents down and getting everything they needed. Except for Andrea.

She was in a chair, clutching to a blanket. She had been like this since the funeral and I couldn't watch it any longer. I went over to her and sat in her line of sight, which was downward, on the ground. It took her a few seconds to realize I was there and her eyes showed a sparkle of life, but it was soon gone again.

'Hey,' I whispered.

She forced a smile, 'Hey.'

'How are you holding up?'

She grimaced, 'Not good.' She sighed and looked me in the eye, tears welling up. 'I keep remembering her face. How she had looked like a walker. So much like Amy, but so different.' I kept silent for a moment, then decided on how to answer.

'It wasn't Amy.' I told her softly. 'Amy wouldn't have tried to attack you, she wouldn't have want to eat you.' Andrea bit her lip, now there were tears clearly streaming down her face.

'My Mother turned into one of them.' I whispered. 'She killed my father, her brother and his wife. She wasn't herself, she was something else. Something different. Something that shouldn't have existed.'

Andrea wiped her tears away, 'Did you kill her?'

I nodded, feeling a flood of sadness wash over me.

'Does it get better with time?' She asked next.

I tried to smile as I swallowed away the bile rising in my throat at memories I wanted out. 'It's what she would've wanted. She wouldn't have wanted to stay a monster.'

Andrea nodded, realizing I hadn't answered her question. 'You just have to move on huh?' She asked sadly.

I shook my head, 'No,' she looked surprised but I wasn't finished yet. 'You don't have to move on. You have to keep Amy with you, the Amy that went fishing with you. _T__hat_ Amy, you never have to move on from.'

Andrea nodded, taking a deep breath. 'Need help with anything?' She asked, trying to act normal again.

'If you want to help, come on.' I got up and held my hand out for her to take. She looked grateful at the normal way I acted around her now and I smiled, dragging her along to my tent so she could help stuff it in the RV.

People took a moment to stare at Andrea, who was finally up on her feet again, and I smiled. We joked around a bit and even though I didn't miss that the smile never entered her eyes, she was on her way to being herself again. I was glad about that, hoping that one day I would become myself again as well.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Author's note: Hey guys, it's been a long day today so I'll add the real/longer author's note tomorrow. I'm too tired to write right now so I hope ýou'll forgive any errors in this chapter. Enjoy reading!**_

Chapter 16

'What the hell?' I asked, not believing my eyes as I took in Daryl's truck. It wasn't so much the truck that caught my attention though, more the thing in the back. 'Where did that thing come from?'

Daryl shot me a quick glare, 'It's not a 'thing'. It's a bike.'

I rolled my eyes, 'I can see it's a bike Mr. Obvious. I meant where did it come from? Like where'd you hide in camp?'

He shrugged, not in the mood to answer, or so it seemed. I sighed, throwing my hands up in the air. We hadn't spoken a word to each other, not since he told Shane I'd be going with him. I was seriously considering to go to Shane and ask him if I could drive with him anyway, because if Daryl was going to be an asshole, I didn't feel like driving with him. I got into the car anyway though, hoping Daryl might come around if we were on the road. Turns out I was wrong.

'Would it kill you to just say something?'

I asked him with an edge of annoyance in my voice. I didn't mind riding in silence, but considering this guy had practically snapped at Shane that I'd be driving with him, I just thought he could at least make conversation. Plus the silence wasn't comfortable, at all. And we had been driving in it for over an hour, it was getting to me.

He looked up at me, his eyes unreadable. 'Why should I?'

I scoffed, officially annoyed. 'I don't know, maybe because _you_ wanted _me_ to drive with you. Which reminds me, why did you?'

He shrugged again, his eyes fixed on the road as if he was wondering that himself. For a moment my heart stopped as he turned around and looked me in the eye, his blue eyes showing something I couldn't place. It picked it's pace up again when he shrugged for the millionth time. 'I don't know' He said.

Did he ever do anything else than shrug? I asked myself, frustrated. This guy was unbelievable. I didn't get him anymore.

'In that case the moment we stop I'll be getting out. I bet Shane wouldn't mind conversing with me in his car, actually I think he might actually enjoy it.'

I stared out of the window, angry with myself more than with him. I didn't understand why I was feeling upset that he seemed to not care. It was frustrating the hell out of me. Even if this guy wasn't all bad, it didn't mean he had to be nice all the time. So why was I getting annoyed when he wasn't? I never got annoyed this fast, or at least I never thought I did.

'Don't.'

I glanced up at him, seeing his jaw clench and unclench as he was thinking how to continue. 'I don't like the guy, didn't want you to be alone with him in a car.' I stared at him a second, was he for real? He didn't seem to be joking though, actually he looked like he was dead serious.

I felt a smile play on my lips as he had just told me why he had wanted me in his car, but hid it by looking out of the window.

'And the bike,' he continued. 'I put it behind some bushes so no one would come up and steal it.'

I smiled at him this time, 'It's a nice bike.'

He nodded, not smiling but not frowning either. His face was neutral. I sighed guessing that was all I would get out of him, but somehow the silence wasn't as pressing anymore as it was before. We drove for a few more miles and then I decided to do something he probably wouldn't like, I put my feet up on the dashboard. He glanced my way once but didn't comment on it, which surprised me just a little bit, but I would put it to good use.

I closed my eyes, thinking I might be able to catch up on some sleep, when suddenly the car stopped.

'What the-' I started, pulling my feet down and sitting up. 'What's going on?'

Daryl was frowning, 'I don't know,' He said, taking ahold of his crossbow and opening the door. 'let's find out.' He said while getting out.

I got out as well and we walked up to the front, where the RV was, together. Others were getting out of the cars as well, some with the same confused faces, others not so much. I guess those radios were good for something.

'What's going on?' I asked Carol, who was standing together with Lori and Sophia watching Rick and Dale open the RV up.

'It broke down.' Carol said, frowning. I heard Daryl curse beside me and glanced his way a second. He looked annoyed.

'Wasn't that thing from the van supposed to prevent this from happening?' He asked Dale.

Dale's mouth was a straight line as he slowly nodded, 'It should've held.' He sighed.

'I see something up ahead. A gas station if we're lucky.' Shane said.

I wanted to scoff and tell him we were in the middle of an apocalypse, we were attacked recently and now our RV had just broken down. I wouldn't call us lucky. I didn't get the chance to tell him this though as Jacqui came out of the RV, looking worried.

'Y'all, Jim. It's bad I don't think he can take anymore.' She said softly, not wanting Jim to hear I guessed. She turned around and went back in. I sighed, looking at the kids who were laughing together. They were the only ones who could still smile so innocently, everyone else was frowning. It was worrying in a way.

'Hey Rick, you want to hold down the fort?' Shane asked.

Rick nodded, thinking of Jim probably. I wondered how bad he was and wanted to check for myself, but that wouldn't be smart. Rick was as capable as I was to check the situation, and he didn't have memories that could resurface, as far as I knew at least.

'I'll drive ahead. See what I can bring back.' Shane continued.

'Yeah I'll come along too. And I'll back you up.' T-Dog said.

I raised my hand, smiling slightly, 'Mind if I come along?' Shane looked surprised a second, so did T-Dog, but they shrugged and nodded. Good, I'd have something to do that kept my mind off of Jim.

'Y'all keep your eyes open now. We'll be right back.' Shane told everyone and then went back to his truck. T-Dog and I both followed, climbing in. The last thing I caught before we left was Daryl's narrowed eyes. What the hell was he pissed about now?

I sighed, shaking my head and focused on the road, scoping the area to see if there were any walkers near the station. I didn't see anyone at the pumps, it was abandoned. The only thing that suggested anyone had ever been here were two cars parked next to the pumps, which both had a 'No gas' sign.

'Shane, you got any knives with you?' I asked him. He looked up, confused, but nodded as he took out a box from the back of the truck and opened it. I smiled as I saw two army knives in it. 'Great, mind if I borrow them?' He looked even more confused now and I chuckled, 'If there are any walkers in there, I'd rather not use guns and attract more.'

His eyes widened in understanding, 'Good thinking.' He said and I grinned, 'I have my moments.' I winked and jumped out of the truck with the knives in hand, ready for use. 'You guys look for something to get that RV started, I'll see if there's anything inside the store.'

Shane hesitated a second, but I didn't wait for him to nod. Instead I went right in, ready to use deadly force if necessary, even to kill the living.

I opened the door slowly, straining to hear any gurgling that didn't belong in a store like this. There was no sound like that, but I didn't let my guard down as I quickly scanned the area and made my way through the shop. Nothing.

Now maybe _that_ is something I'd call 'being lucky'. The store was a mess though, half of the stock that normally occupied the shelves was scattered on the floor. I saw several cans of food that were still sealed and picked them up. Might as well bring some extra food in case it was necessary. I threw a few other things in my bags, including some shaving blades for both men and women and a few other necessities. The things in the freezer were useless, with the power shortage everywhere, so I didn't have to look in there.

On my way out though I did see something else, cigarettes. I hadn't seen Daryl smoke much, but I guessed that was because he was careful with his cigarettes. I had seen him doing it once though, when he was leaning against the RV, I just had no idea what brand he had been smoking. I decided to bring some for him though, considering he had looked mad when I took off with Shane and T-Dog. I felt bad about that for some reason and wanted to make it up to him, whatever it was I did wrong. And truth be told, I thought he looked really good with a cigarette in his mouth.

I shook my head, ignoring that thought, and looked for some way to get behind the counter. There was a door to my right but as I glanced outside I thought Shane and T-Dog were about ready.

'You better be fucking happy with this asshole.' I grumbled as I climbed onto the counter and landed on the other side. I grabbed a few random packages when suddenly something grabbed my leg. I shot up and dropped my bag and the cigarettes, surprised as shit. Spinning around and getting my knife ready I saw a guy on the floor, or half of a guy anyway. The lower half of his body was gone, his right arm as well. He was pulling himself closer to get a bite out of my ankle but I stopped him by driving a knife through his head. Out of nowhere a gurgling sound came from my left, I turned, grabbing the second knife from my pocket and holding it out in front of me.

'You've got to be fucking kidding me.' I said, right before charging and lodging the second knife in his skull, but not before he had grabbed my shirt tightly. He fell backward, almost pulling me down with him. He had a strong grip for a dead man. I sighed, taking in the scene before. That 'lucky part'? I take it back.

A knocking on the window brought me back to reality, it was T-Dog, gesturing for me to come back outside. I nodded, bending down to grab my bag, putting the cigarettes in and some other things that had fallen out. I also took some matches I saw lying around in case someone needed them.

I noticed a shot gun under the counter, with a box of ammo. Why the hell hadn't the guy used that? I asked myself as I looked at the body. I made a face as I pulled the knives out of their heads and cleaned them with my shirt. Then I climbed back over the counter, thinking of Daryl and how he'd better be happy with those fucking cigarettes. I opened the door and went back out, cleaning the last bit of the knife and sighing as it didn't work.

'Fuck Kaitlinn, are you ok?' Shane asked me, jumping back down from the truck. I looked up, confused, until I thought of my clothes. I looked down and saw the blood, it was all over me.

'Yeah, I'm fine.' I told Shane, still frowning. This was one of the few shirts I had, and it had been my favorite one. 'Just some walkers behind the counter.' I shrugged.

'How'd you kill them, I didn't hear a gunshot.'

I showed him the knives, 'Told ye they'd come in handy. I can't get the last blood off of this one though.' I narrowed my eyes and heard him chuckle.

'That's fine, just keep'em. You seem to know how to use them. You even got us a new gun.' He pointed at the shotgun that was sticking out of my bag.

'I'm not sure it works though, the guy behind the counter didn't seem to have used it.'

'Maybe he didn't know how to.' T-Dog offered.

I shrugged, 'Probably.' And climbed into the truck. 'Let's get back before they leave without us.'

'They wouldn't.' Shane said with certainty.

'Well with my luck, I'm not so sure.' I muttered, but no one heard.

The moment we got back and got out of the truck there were 5 people by my side. Kirra, Zayn and Nico all three came running at me, eyes wide at the blood on my shirt. Andrea and Lori were there too, looking worried. After assuring all of them I was fine I saw Daryl turn around to stand behind the RV, out of my sight. What the fuck?

My attention was drawn by Lori and Andrea's sad looks though. 'What's going on?' I asked, for the millionth time it felt.

'It's Jim.' Lori said softly. 'He doesn't want to continue.'

I frowned, walking up to the rest of the group. 'I was with Jim just now.' Rick said when Shane and T-Dog had also joined. Kirra and Nico were holding onto my legs, Zayn was standing beside me, a sad look on his face. Daryl stood next to Rick, a bit back though. He glanced up at me a few times but I couldn't read his expression.

'He says that he wants to give up. He wants to stay here.'

'But it's in the middle of nowhere!' Glenn protested, but it sounded like he had already used this argument and he knew it wasn't worth anything.

'It's what he says he wants.' Rick said, looking pained.

'And he's lucid?' Carol asks him, not being able to believe it. Of course she didn't, she still had her family. I felt my eyes widen at my own thoughts, what the hell was I thinking? I still had family, they were holding onto me right now. But the problem with thoughts is that you can't always control them. Fuck.

'He seems to be.' Rick said, his mouth in a straight line. 'I would say yes.'

Dale took a small step forward, 'Back in the camp,' He started, 'when I said Daryl might be right and you shut me down, you misunderstood. I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have an answer.'

Shane shook his head lightly, 'We just leave him here? We take off, man I'm not sure I could live with that.'

'It's not your call,' Lori told him. 'Either one of you.' She directed at both Shane and Rick.

'Lori's right.' I said, feeling nothing. 'If Jim wants to say goodbye, we should let him.'

'But-' Shane tried to protest.

'He's done Shane, he's seen enough death, heard enough screams. He just wants some peace, we have to give that to him at least.'

Shane looked at me and I saw the reluctance to leave Jim behind in his eyes and the surprise at my sudden outburst. He knew however Lori and I were right and nodded curtly, his mouth in a straight line, evidence of the fact he did not want to to this.

While Shane and Rick helped Jim out of the RV, with a lot of groans, mostly from Jim, Dale and T-Dog were working on the RV. Dale looked happy with the stuff Shane and T-Dog had brought along, as happy as you could look after knowing you were going to say goodbye to a friend. Family maybe even, if Dale saw it like that.

I watched as Shane and Rick helped Jim sit down against a tree. They seemed to be making sure if he really wanted this for a second, but when Rick offered Jim a gun he declined. That's when the goodbye's started. Jacqui gave him kisses on his cheek, muttering something in goodbye. She walked away with tears in her eyes and I felt bad for her. Dale thanked him for fighting and walked away as well, looking sad. The others muttered their own goodbye's and I sent the kids away so I could talk to him alone for a second. I don't exactly know why I felt the need, but I just wanted to say something.

Daryl was the last one to leave, before me, nodding in Jim's direction and shooting a glance towards me before turning around.

'Thank you Jim, for everything. I hope you find peace with your family.' I said with a small smile. He tried to smile back but I saw it hurt.

'You sure you don't need a gun? I found this one at the gas station?' I gestured towards the shotgun still in my bag.

'No that's alright.'

I nodded slowly, looking down. 'Hang in there Jim.' I whispered before turning around and feeling as bad as I had felt when finding out he had a fever. Bad for the fact I had to be so different.

I walked up back to Daryl's truck and got in quietly, looking out of the window at Jim. He had tilted his head up a bit, the sun illuminating his face slightly. I'd like to think he was feeling better but I knew that wasn't true, he was just enjoying what he could, until he would die.

I swallowed and closed my eyes, trying to block out the thoughts on how he could get killed, or how he could die all alone out there.

'You ok?' Daryl asked, his voice sounding unsure.

I forced a smile but didn't open my eyes. 'Fine,' I lied.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Author's Note:**_

_**So, sorry about being too tired to write an AU yesterday. Now though I have a few things to say, if you would stick with me at least, haha.**_

_**First of all I want to thank Scarlet Nyx for every review I got, I love to read them thank you so much. I hope this time the name actually does appear, haha. I also thank you for the ideas, I'll keep them in mind. I actually was thinking the same about the choice, but I'll have to see exactly how to do that. Other than that I think I can add Maggie and Beth, actually already have ideas popping up in my mind for them haha, not sure yet if the circumstances from season 2 will be the same in my story though.**_

_**To ShadowHunter 90, I am absolutely mortified. So sorry, I'll change it immediately. I hope you like my story despite this mistake..**_

_**For the rest I think I'll indeed be bringing Merle back, just have to see how I'll do that exactly. Not for he next few chapters though, so please be patient. This is about all I've got to say. Tomorrow I'm watching season 2, the first episode, again and see how to continue my story. Hope you like this chapter!**_

Chapter 17

Daryl's POV

'Fine.' She said.

Yeah right. Now I might not be a people's person but there is no way in the world that she was 'fine' right now. She had her eyes closed and her head tilted slightly back, resting against the headrest. She looked like she was trying hard not to think about something. I frowned, trying to find something to say that might help her take her mind off of whatever she didn't want to think about. Then I went with the only thing that jumped out at me, the blood on her shirt.

'What happened at the gas station?' I asked her.

When she had left I felt angry, when she was gone the worry took over though. I was afraid something might happen to them and they wouldn't return. When the truck came back and she got out with the blood evident on her shirt I felt like I was having a heart attack, it actually took a while before my heart started beating again. When she finally assured everyone she was fine I felt the anger returning. The anger I'd felt when she asked Shane if she could come along.

I'd told her I didn't like the guy and then she goes volunteering to go to some fucking abandoned gas station with him? Even if the black guy went with them I didn't like it.

I tried to relax my hands when I noticed my knuckles were turning white because I was clenching the steering wheel too hard and focused on Kate instead. She had her eyes opened and was looking at me with quizzing eyes. I gestured at her shirt and understanding rose in them. As I turned back to the road she shrugged, closing her eyes again.

'Not much,' she said softly. 'Two walkers tried to eat me, the usual.' She tried to joke but it didn't really work out. Her voice sounded unnatural, like she was forcing it to sound light and careless.

'Why are you covered in so much blood if you just killed'em?'

I knew from experience that shooting them usually doesn't get you this dirty, even if you did so from up close.

'I didn't shoot them.' She answered as if she could read minds. 'That probably would've attracted more walkers and I didn't want to risk that considering we had no idea how long it would take to fix the RV.'

She sounded professional in the way she said it, like it came natural for her to think like that. I guess it did. I guess it did for everyone who has been surviving by themselves for so long. It's sad, but it's true.

'How'd you kill'em then?' I asked her, a bit confused now. I couldn't think of many other ways to kill walkers, and none of them really fit the image I had of Kaitlinn.

'Knives.' She simply said.

I looked up at her, eyebrows raised. 'Knives?' I asked surprised. It was one of the few ways to kill them, stick a knife in their heads, it just wasn't what I'd expected. I already knew she could shoot, after having done so the night we got attacked, but I honestly had thought that was all she could. Of course knives didn't need all too much skill, but to kill two walkers it needed at least some.

'Suprised you?' She asked me with a slight smirk, having opened her eyes again.

I felt my lips form a smile before I could stop them, 'Yeah, you did.'

She smiled slightly, 'Mind if I put my feet up?' She asked me then, gesturing at the dashboard.

I raised an eyebrow, 'If I remember correctly you didn't bother askin' last time.'

She rolled her eyes, 'Well I'm asking now.'

I shrugged, 'Whatever you want princess.' I told her with a smirk.

She scowled at her nickname but put her feet up anyway. She was wearing shorts and I could see that her legs were tanned from the sun that had been burning for the past months. For some reason I started wondering what other parts of her body were tanned, and what not. I quickly pushed the thoughts away though, which was harder than it sounded because whenever she shifted her weight or crossed/uncrossed her legs the thoughts came flying back.

She fell asleep halfway and I couldn't help myself from glancing her way once in a while. I remembered thinking she was gorgeous when I was stopping the bleeding of her shoulder, but that word didn't quite cut it. I couldn't understand how she could look so good during the middle of everything that has been happening, but her face had an innocent glow only sleeping people could have. Her hair was softly curling and the color made her skin almost glow. I wanted to reach over and touch her, caress her cheek and run my hands through her hair.

I clenched my fists around the steering wheel and focused on the road, trying to ignore the sleeping figure next to me with all my might. I didn't reach over and touch her, my only effort went for pushing the thoughts out. This wasn't normal, and it was annoying the hell out of me while at the same time making me feel just slightly happy, which annoyed me even more. Fuck.

* * *

She slept for the rest of the drive, until the RV stopped once again. This time though the reason we stopped was because we had arrived at our destination.

I hesitated a moment but then decided I should act normal, and so I nudged Kate awake. She shot up, reaching for her gun the moment her eyes were open, instinct I guessed. Because her legs were on top of the dashboard however, she almost fell over by the sudden movement. I would've caught her if she had really fallen, I wouldn't have minded, but she didn't. Instead she regained her balance and shook her head a few times so she could focus on me.

'You the one poking me awake?' She asked, blinking a few times which made her glare less effective and actually quite funny. I refrained from chuckling and instead went with the cheeky grin.

'We're here princess, so if you're done with your beauty sleep.' I gestured for her to get out.

She shook her head in disbelief, a small smile playing on her lips. 'I don't need a beauty sleep.' She said teasingly while getting out, flipping her hair over her shoulder before grabbing her bag from the floor.

_No, you certainly don't,_ I thought and locked the words away quickly. No fucking way was I ever going to let that slip my mouth. That would officially make me crazy.

I grabbed my crossbow and got out, walking around the car towards her. The smile on her face was gone and had changed into an expression of utter horror and disbelief. I soon figured out why as I saw bodies spread around the area. Flies were circling the dead, the horrible smell attracting them. I heard coughing coming from the others and had to stop myself from hushing them as a reflex.

'Come on,' Shane called, not too loud but loud enough for everyone to hear. 'Let's get moving.'

Kaitlinn shared a wary glance with me and took out two army knives, probably the ones she had used to kill the walkers at the gas station. I was glad she did, thinking of how the sound of gunshots would probably wake every single one of these things up, and that would get us into serious trouble. We followed the rest, Shane ushering us forward.

'Keep moving, stay together.' He said as he started walking next to Kaitlinn. From the corner of my eye I could see him resting his hand on the small of her back and I had to clench my jaw not to snap at him. Who the fuck did he think he was, touching her like that? Shit, why the fuck did I care?

I quickly looked away towards the bodies instead, aiming my crossbow at every dead thing we passed, ready to shoot if necessary. Actually I wanted a few of them to get the hell up so I could kill'em, that might help me control the anger I was feeling. An anger I didn't even understand, which made it all the worse. I hated not being in control of what I was feeling, nor knowing exactly what it was I _was_ feeling.

Rick was already inspecting the doors when we arrived at the entrance of the building, starting a low conversation with Shane I couldn't quite here when he moved to Rick's side. I shot a glance towards Kaitlinn, inspecting her face to find any sign of disappointment that Shane had left her side. I couldn't see past the frown on her face though and sighed in defeat, fuck this. I shouldn't-

Suddenly a yelp from Sophia interrupted my thoughts. I looked up and immediately saw what had her alarmed, there was a walker coming our way. He was wearing an army uniform that looked ravaged and he was limping. I wondered if he had gotten the wound during this fight, or some other fight somewhere else. Not that it mattered. I took a few steps forward and aimed my crossbow, making sure to hit him in the brains with an arrow. He fell down instantly and then I decided to vent my anger on someone, Rick being the easy target now.

'You led us into a graveyard.' I growled, making my way towards him.

'He made a call' I heard Dale mutter and I faced him, annoyance and anger probably clearly visible on my face.

'It was the wrong damn call!'

I was losing my temper and wanted to hit Rick but Shane stopped me, yelling for me to shut up. I was about to lunge forward and hit him instead but Kaitlinn suddenly appeared at my side and that distracted me enough to let Shane get away from me. He was facing Rick himself now, telling him it was a dead end. Kate didn't say anything, and somehow that made me feel more in control than if she would've said something. As if she sensed my thoughts she shot me a small smile before focusing back on Shane and Rick who were now in a hushed, but heated, discussion.

Carol had asked where we were gonna go, sounding desperate, but Shane was still trying to convince Rick. 'Do you hear me? No blame.' He said, wanting to continue but Lori interrupted, probably knowing that Shane wasn't getting anywhere close to convincing her husband.

'She's right.' She said, I guessed she was talking about Carol. 'We can't be here, this close to the city, after dark.' Her voice had an edge of fear in it, one that I knew everyone was feeling, not everyone showed it though. Sometimes hiding your emotions was better, especially if you want to survive.

'Fort Benning, Rick- Still an option.' Shane offered, still trying to get him to turn around.

'On what? No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles.' Andrea told him.

'125. I checked the map.' Glenn muttered.

'Forget Fort Benning. We need answers tonight, now.' Lori said.

'Well, think of something.' Rick said to her.

'Let's go, back to the cars.' Shane suddenly called out, seeing that it was close to dark already.

They were turning around, on their way back to the cars. I wanted to follow, but noticing Kaitlinn wasn't I stayed behind a bit, wondering what she was up to. She was looking at Rick, who was willing the door to open with his eyes. It wasn't exactly working.

Suddenly Rick said something that made everyone stop in their tracks.

'The camera- it moved.'

'You imagined it.' Dale said, probably knowing that if you wanted something bad enough, you'd see things that weren't there. And considering Rick had led us to this place, he was sure to want it bad enough.

'It moved.' Rick muttered, more to himself than anyone else, realizing what it meant.

'Rick it's dead man. It's an automated device, it's gears, ok? They're just winding down. Now come on.'

Rick didn't move, but right now everyone was starting to hesitate slightly. Maybe Rick was right. I narrowed my eyes and stared at the camera myself, not seeing any movement whatsoever. He probably did imagine it.

'Man, just listen to me.' Shane told him. 'Look around this place. it's dead ok? It's dead. You need to let it go Rick.'

'No he's right.'

The voice beside me made me look up in surprise, it was Kaitlinn who'd said it. Everyone else was now staring at her as well, except for Rick who was too busy with figuring out what to do I guess.

'Guys, Rick's right. It moved. And these buildings have security systems that have to be controlled manually. There is someone inside of there, still alive.'

No one asked her how she knew what she told us, maybe she was even making it up on the spot, but they did believe Rick now.

Suddenly Rick started yelling at the thing, or rather at the person inside, to open up. 'We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left. You need to let us in, or we'll die!' He cried out, desperate. Nothing happened.

Shane walked up to him, probably realizing that whoever was in there wouldn't open up and knowing that if we wanted to live we had to get out of here. He tried to pull Rick away and that was when Kaitlinn suddenly started moving. She walked up to the camera, calling for Zayn, Kirra and Nico to join her. They did as asked, like they would do if their mother had asked them.

Everyone was watching her with anticipation, wondering what she was going to do but most of all wondering if it would work. She caught my eye a second while making her way towards the camera and I saw a determination in them that almost made me believe that she would get whatever she wanted.

'Look sir, or ma'am, we need help.' She started. 'We can't be out here when it gets dark, you know what happens then. The government promised us safety in Atlanta, your still part of that same government. Safety of the people should be your main priority. Let us in, I beg of you.'

She didn't sound as desperate as Rick had sounded, but somehow she had everyone's undivided attention. Maybe because she was our only hope right now. The only thing I could think though was how amazing she looked, determined like this. Sure of herself even though I was certain she felt everything but sure.

Then, out of nowhere, a loud noise echoed through the area and the doors opened with a loud noise. Everyone was staring at the bright light that came from inside and soon grins and smiles spread on their faces. I was grinning myself, amazed. Kaitlinn had done it, she had saved us.


	18. Chapter 18

**_Author's Note: HeyHey,_**

**_Thank you Scarlet Nyx, ShadowHunter90 and Maddy-Marie XO for the reviews. From now on I'll try and remember using " instead of '. Sorry if it was confusing, haha. So they're at the CDC now, and everything will go about the same except for a few things, I guess a few major things but you'll read about that later, I won't give it away yet. Hope you like this chapter!_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Original series, books or other merchandise stuff._**

Chapter 18

Daryl's POV

After the doors opened and revealed a bright light that made me have to squint my eyes, it took everyone about a second to move into action. Several thoughts were going through my mind at the same time, one of them being that Kate had actually gotten us in. I was also wondering what awaited us inside, who there would be, how many, etc. Because of all these thoughts distracting me, I didn't argue with Shane when he told me to cover the back.

I turned around, scanning the area that was now lit by the same light that had almost blinded me earlier. I noticed a few walkers slowly starting to move, as if they were waking up from a deep slumber, because of the loud noise and the light. I narrowed my eyes and raised my crossbow, readying myself to shoot any walker that got up on their feet. I shot two walkers in the head before my name was called out by Kate, telling me to get inside.

"Hello?" I heard Rick ask out loud when I walked inside backwards, still aiming at the walkers. The words echoed through the building, which had an unsettling effect on some members of the group. I noticed their glances around, probably wondering what would happen next. The echoing made the building sound empty to me, but I didn't dare say anything.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Kate standing with the kids around her. She didn't look happy with what she had accomplished, which I didn't understand. Rick hadn't been able to convince the person inside to open up, Kate was the one who did that. She should at least be proud of herself. Her eyes didn't show pride though, instead she looked uncertain and wary, a look that develops after months of sudden events that involve the dead coming back to life.

"Hello?" Rick asked again.

The building was huge, I noted. I wondered what it would've looked like in a normal world, if there would be people roaming this place with clipboards, wearing glasses and labcoats. There probably would be, and they probably would know what they were doing. Would they still? Because I haven't met anyone in a long time that knew what he, or she, was doing anymore.

I looked around more and saw Dale and T-Dog keeping an eye on the door. Not that it would help, shooting walkers through the door didn't sound like the best idea ever with all the glass, plus it would only make it easier for other walkers to enter. I guessed it made them feel safe though, so didn't comment on it.

Suddenly a gun cocked behind me and I spun around, aiming my crossbow at whoever dared to pull a weapon on us. When I saw the guy I had to stop myself from laughing. Apart from the gun he was holding, he didn't look dangerous at all. Actually he looked pretty much harmless. The guy had blonde short hair and was, I guessed, in his early to mid fourties. His face was grave but the hesitation in his eyes was evident.

"Anybody infected?" He asked, sounding only slightly fazed by the number of our group. He scanned through us and his eyes eventually landed on Kaitlinn. There was something in those eyes as he looked her over that I didn't like, not one bit. I guess that was part of the reason I kept my crossbow aimed at him, ready to shoot if he made any wrong move at all, even if he didn't look dangerous.

"One of our group was. He didn't make it." Rick said honestly, having lowered the gun he had pulled out already. I wanted to shoot him a glare for the stupidity of his answer. Of course we should tell him that one of us had been infected, what could possibly go wrong by telling him that, I thought sarcastically. I knew that I would personally shoot every last one of the group that even had a remote chance of being infected, but hopefully that was just me.

"Why are you here, what do you want?" The guy asked, keeping his gun trained on us. It didn't seem like he was planning on hurting us, but I could be wrong and I wasn't taking any chances.

"A chance." Rick said.

"Thats asking an awful lot these days."

"I know." I heard a hint of desperation in Rick's voice but I didn't glance his way to see if I could find out why. I didn't really care, plus there were more pressing matters, for example the way the guy was still eyeing Kaitlinn. I wanted to yell at him to keep his eyes to himself but I didn't, instead I narrowed my eyes and shot him a glare. Because he wasn't looking my way though, he didn't notice.

He hesitated a second before lowering his gun and looking back at Rick. "You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission." He said, glancing at Kate once more. I saw that this time she also noticed his glance, as she narrowed her eyes at him and seemed to want to protest. Before she could however Rick already agreed.

"You've got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes it stays closed." The guy said while walking up to the door himself.

Rick nodded and instructed several of us to help carry things. Shane, T-Dog, Glenn and him would go to the cars and take what they needed. I had to cover them in case any walkers got to close. I did as asked, afterwards retrieving the arrows from the heads of several walkers and heading inside again with the rest. I might not trust this guy, especially not the way he looked at Kate, but being inside was a hell of a lot better than staying out there with more than a hundred walkers yearning for your flesh.

Kaitlinn's POV

I held my breath as they went outside, more for Daryl than for anyone else. It was pretty funny how I was afraid for the one person who was most probable to survive, but I couldn't help it. I was worried for him.

When they finally came back inside, safe, I let go of my breath and actually dared to feel relieved. Dale and T-Dog closed the doors and the guy that let us in, who I guessed was a doctor, walked up to a little machine on the wall.

"Vi, seal the main entrance. Kill the power up here." The guy said.

With a lot of noise the doors closed and the lights dimmed. I wondered how many walkers would have woken up from the noise outside, but soon pushed the thought away. We were inside, no need to care about that right now. We were safe.

_Safe _

The word sounded strange in my head, it wasn't something I was used to thinking. It wasn't exactly a thought I trusted either. Not that it mattered much, right now it was better here than out there so I had nothing to complain about. I saw Rick introducing himself to the doctor and strained to hear the guy's name, wondering who he was and what he was doing here.

"Dr. Edwin Jenner." He said simply, turning around and walking away while gesturing for us to follow him. I didn't miss the glance he shot me before turning though. For some reason he seemed to be rather interested in me, and I didn't really like it all that much. I felt uneasy under his gaze, as if he was trying to see through me with it.

He stopped at two elevator doors, pressing the button so the doors opened. It was big enough for all of us to fit in. When we were all in the doors closed and I felt the elevator starting to move, I couldn't be sure in which direction it was moving though.

I stood behind Lori and Carol, against the elevator wall. The kids were standing in front of them, still in my line of sight.

"Doctors always go around packin' heat like that?" Daryl, who was standing across from me, asked. He sounded slightly annoyed but no one else seemed to notice but me, so maybe I imagined it. Why would he be annoyed with a guy he had only just met? It didn't make sense. Then again, this _was _Daryl I was talking about and he wasn't exactly a people's person.

Jenner shrugged, "There were plenty left lying around." He said. "I familiarized myself. But you look harmless enough." He said with a slight smile, catching my eyes before looking back at the doors of the elevator.

I felt uncomfortable, knowing Daryl had also noticed the glance. I didn't know why Jenner kept shooting me glances, it was confusing the hell out of me. I clutched my bag closer as the elevator stopped. Jenner got out and we followed him through an unfamiliar hallway.

"Are we underground?" Carol asked, her voice shaking a bit.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Jenner asked, glancing at her over his shoulder.

"A little" Carol admitted.

"Try not to think about it."

Great advice, I thought sarcastically. I wasn't claustrophobic myself, but I did know that telling someone to _not_ think about something would make them only think about it more. Carol started fidgeting with her hands and I felt bad for her. I was distracted before I could try and comfort her though, by a large room at the end of the hallway. It was dark and I couldn't see anything other than that it was a large room.

"Vi, bring up the lights in the big room." Jenner said. A sudden beeping and whizzing made us all look up in surprise as we entered, the lights coming on. There was a circular platform in the middle of the room with desks and computers on it. Above the platform was a ring of lights, hanging from the ceiling. The light gave the room an unnatural glow, or maybe it was the fact that all the desks were unoccupied. There was no one else and I could only imagine what it would look like with all the doctors and scientists around, busy.

"Welcome to zone 5." Jenner said, turning back to face the group.

"Where is everybody?" Rick asked, thinking the same as me."The other doctors, the staff?"

Jenner glanced at me once again, only this time there was something in his eyes I did not understand. It looked a hell of a lot like accusation, but I was certain I had never met the guy, so how could that be what I saw?

"Gone." The doctor said simply.

"What about the person you were speaking with?" Lori asks. "Vi?"

His mouth formed a straight line, making him look rather regretful. "Vi, say hello to our guests. Tell them," He hesitated a second before continuing. "Welcome."

"Hello guests, welcome." A computer voice sounded through the room. I could see Lori slump slightly, realizing that there really was no one else here anymore. I could guess what was going on inside her head right now, questions that went through mine as well. If there was no one in the CDC building anymore, what did that mean for the cure? What did that mean for the rest of the world?

"I'm all that's left," said Jenner softly. "I'm sorry."

Then he turned around and left the big room, gesturing for us to follow once again.

* * *

Daryl's POV

Fuck this guy. He might have saved us by letting us enter the buildling, but I was in no way going to be nice to him.

I swear he had looked genuinely excited when he was allowed to draw blood from Kaitlinn. I don't know if she had noticed, nobody else seemed to, but I did and it pissed me off. There was something wrong with this guy and I did not trust him, at all.

When Kaitlinn was done it was my turn. I sat down and shot the guy my most deadly glare. When his eyes widened in fear for a second, I felt just a bit smug, but he soon recovered and focused on the task at hand instead, trying to ignore me. He didn't seem to be feeling the same level of excitement with drawing my, or anyone else's blood though, which only made me more angry. When he was done with me I got up and stalked away from him and sat down on a nearby chair.

It was Andrea's turn. She would be the last one and Jenner seemed even less interested in her blood than in mine. He was fidgeting a little, as if he wanted to go do something instead of doing this. Andrea sighed,"What's the point?" She asked. "If we were infected we'd all be running a fever."

I saw him hesitate slightly before answering and narrowed my eyes at his next words. "I've already broken every rule in the book letting you in here. Let me just at least be thorough." He was keeping something from us, the reason he was really taking our blood. I could see it and I could feel it. What the hell was he going to do with the samples?

"All done." He told Andrea when he was finished. She got up and almost fell over again, but Jacqui was helping her stand straight again.

"Are you ok?" Jenner asked her, trying to sound concerned. I noticed though he was busier with the blood he'd just drawn from us than with her. He was putting it away in a silver case, closing and locking it shut.

Jacqui noticed that he wasn't really concerned as well and narrowed her eyes at the guy. "She hasn't eaten in days," she said, glaring at him. "None of us have."

Jenner nodded slowly, picking the case up from the table and getting up. "I'm sure I have something for you in the kitchen, follow me." He said with a genuine smile this time.

I got up from the chair and followed him reluctantly. I was hungry though, and wondered what he would have for us. Turned out he had a lot. Wine, beer, bread, cheese and even turkey. We all started eating together, drinking wine and laughing. It was more fun than anyone had had in a long time. The food tasted amazing but my attention was on Kate, who was eating in silence.

She had made five Turkey sandwiches, for every one of the kids. Afterwards she made one for herself and had started nibbling on it slowly, not even touching the glass of wine in front of her. I wondered what was going on, why she was being like this. Normally she was the one who laughed and talked with the rest, or at least with the kids. This time though she was only staring down at the table, until she finished the sandwich.

When she did she suddenly got up and left. The others were too busy with laughing and drinking to notice, but I did. I had also noticed the doctor wasn't around anymore and I wondered what he was doing, and where Kaitlinn was going.

I narrowed my eyes and put the bottle of beer I'd grabbed from the fridge down, deciding to follow her. I knew how to stay quiet and stalk a prey, so following her without her knowing wasn't hard. I trailed her back to the big room where we'd been before. The doctor was sitting at one of the work stations, reading something. The room was dark except for the desk lamp he had turned on.

Kaitlinn seemed to hesitate a moment before entering, clearing her throat to warn the doctor she was there. He practically jumped out of his seat in surprise, quickly putting the papers he'd been reading away. He was definitely hiding something. Now the question was, what the hell was it he was hiding?


	19. Chapter 19

_**Author's Note:**_

_**HeyHey guys and girls, so here you have chapter 19 already. I hope I'll be able to keep up with a chapter a day now that school will start again tomorrow, I'll do my best! I hope you still like reading the story, if you do please let me know and review. I appreciate every review I get, and follows and favorites of course. If you have any questions, ideas, comments or whatever, let me know. That's about all I've got to say, so till next chapter!**_

_**Special thanks to itricke for the guest review! I'm glad you like it, haha! Hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Original Walking Dead.**_

Chapter 19

Kaitlinn's POV

Jenner was sitting at his desk, leaning over some papers and reading them with a deep frown on his face. I cleared my throat to let him know I was there and he jumped up in complete surprise, pushing some papers inside a folder. He was hiding something but I didn't think I wanted to find out what it was.

"Doctor, are you ok?" I asked him, seeing him flush.

He nodded, sending me a half-smile. "Sorry, I didn't hear you coming." He apologized.

I smiled reassuringly, "That's ok."

He relaxed back into his chair, but I saw that he was still fidgeting. He was nervous about something, I wondered what about. Maybe about me being here? But why would he be?

"So, what made you come up here? The rest is still eating, right? Why aren't you still with them?"

He was right, the rest was still eating, talking and drinking. They were having fun and it was great to see it, but there had been something I wanted to ask Jenner. I didn't feel all too comfortable around him, still not knowing why he had been shooting me glances, but I just _had _to ask.

I shrugged, walking a bit closer to him in the hope I might be able to figure out what the folder was about he had put the papers in. Even if I didn't want to know what it was, my curiosity got the best of me anyway. "Wasn't hungry anymore." I told him. "And eating too much after doing so long without food, isn't exactly good for you, right doc?" I asked with a smile. He chuckled, but there was still an edge of nervousness to it I didn't miss.

"You need anything?" He asked.

I shook my head, then cocked it to the side, "Or maybe I do." I said with a chuckle. "I have a question and I'd rather ask it in private than with everyone else there. I don't want to worry them, you know."

His face changed and he nodded slowly, gesturing for me to sit down. I declined the offer, rather sticking with standing. Whenever something happened you were a lot faster in reacting when already up on your feet. Not that I expected anything to happen, but you could never be too careful.

"What is it you wanted to ask?"

I took a deep breath and eyed him as I asked the question, wondering how he would react. "Is there a cure?"

Surprise entered his eyes but he soon was able to mask it with slight curiosity. "What do you mean with 'a cure'?"

"Something that stops people from dying after being bitten, what else? It's not like the walkers can be saved anyway." I said, not getting why he asked it. Half of the people who have been changed had limbs that had been torn off, there was no way they could turn back into normal humans.

"Some might be able to be saved." He muttered and his eyes widened as he realized he'd said it out loud.

"What!?" I asked him in shock, taking another step closer. "Are you serious? Do you know how?"

He shook his head while getting up on his feet. "We don't know yet how, but we have a lead on a cure."

I was getting more excited by the second, my heart racing in my chest. Maybe the world could be saved after all.

Suddenly I realized what he had said. "'We'?" I asked him, confused. "I thought you were the only one here."

He nodded, a sad look crossing his face. "Yes, I am. But a colleague of mine has been working at another CDC centre. I haven't heard from her in a about two months though, so I'm not sure what exactly happened. Not even sure if she's still alive." He sounded rather regretful at the last part, but right now I couldn't feel for him. I had other things on my mind, the cure for the most part.

"But she had an idea for a cure?" I asked.

He nodded again, "She did. The problem is how we're gonna get it, and spread it, when we know it works."

"You mean you're working on it already?"

He seemed to weigh his next answer, "We're working on it yes, but it's not sure yet _if_ it will work."

"You've gotta test it then." I said, but when I saw his amused look I knew I was now stating the obvious. "I'm sorry," I apologized, feeling just a bit embarrassed at my reaction. "I shouldn't be telling you what to do. You're the doctor after all."

He chuckled softly, "It's ok." He said. "You're right, we should test it. But we don't know exactly what a proper test would be, we're still trying to find out."

"You'll find it." I told him, more to convince myself than him. He had to find out how to test it, a cure had to be found. I smiled at him, feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time. "I'm sure you will, doctor, thank you for the answer to my question."

I was about to turn around when he stopped me by calling my name. "Yes?" I asked him.

"Don't tell anyone else about this yet. It's still not ready so we can't go plant a seed of hope if we're not sure it will grow." He pointed out.

Those words hit me hard, the hope I had felt shrinking immediately. Of course it wasn't sure the cure they had thought they'd found would work. Maybe it wouldn't, maybe-

_No, _I thought. _There is a cure out there that will work. Someday we will be saved._

I nodded at the doctor as I tried to convince myself of that, shooting him a small smile before leaving. While I was on my way back to the rest I suddenly realized he had known my name, how the hell did he? I didn't remember introducing myself, or anyone introducing me. It could be possible he had heard it when someone had called me 'Kaitlinn', but for some reason I was in doubt. There was no other way for him to know my name though, right? Or was there?

* * *

Daryl's POV

I went back to the kitchen right before they would, not wanting to get caught listening in to their conversation. Not that I'd heard much, I'd only been able to follow less than half. The only thing I knew for sure was that they had been talking about a cure. For the rest I had no idea what was going on. But even if I hadn't heard half of the conversation, I had heard him calling her by name. It was weird because I was positive that there had been no one who had called her Kaitlinn since we entered, and I had a pretty good memory. I couldn't think of any other reason for him to know her name though, she didn't seem to know him so that couldn't be it. Maybe she had introduced herself?

It didn't matter, I still didn't trust him. Actually I trusted him even less than before. He was hiding something, and I didn't like it.

When I entered the kitchen again Carl was making a face at a glass of wine he'd just put down saying how gross it was. I grabbed the bottle of beer I'd been drinking before up from the counter I'd put it on, and set it to my mouth, gulping the remainder down.

"Just stick to soda pop there, bud." Shane told Carl as I put the bottle down.

I noticed Glenn looking down at his drink, probably thinking the same. I grinned, forcing the earlier thoughts from my head. "Not you, Glenn." I said to him.

He looked up, a confused expression on his face, "What?" He asked.

"Keep drinkin' little man." I told him. "I want to see how red your face can get."

Everyone laughed as I said it, they hadn't even noticed me sneaking out. Not that I cared, I was glad really. No one could tell Kate I'd followed her either if they hadn't noticed me leave. Speaking of Kate, she was just entering the kitchen, a small smile on her lips. Her eyes caught mine and my breath hitched for a second. Her eyes were sparkling right now, sparkling with something, something that came very close to hope. She was beautiful like this. I couldn't smile back though, I was too busy staring at her.

She looked away towards the door as Jenner entered as well, which ruined my mood immediately.

"There is our host!' T-Dog roared, putting his bottle up for a toast.

"'Here's to you, doc. Booyah." I said, not really meaning it and he noticed. He caught my glare same as he had during the blood drawing. This time though Kate noticed as well, a small frown on her pretty face. There were several 'booyah's from the rest and it soon turned back into laughing. Kate moved to my side, leaning against the counter like I did. I liked being able to glance at her from the side without her noticing directly. Her hair was a mess but it only made her look more attractive, and that breathtaking glint in her eyes, it made my heart stutter.

"Fuck." I muttered, grabbing another bottle of beer and taking a gulp. Maybe not smart considering I blamed the thoughts about Kate on the booze, but I had to do something to keep my mind off of her. Not that it was working. She looked up at my sudden cursing, questioning me with her eyes I guessed but I couldn't see as I was trying to ignore her.

Suddenly Shane cleared his throat and addressed Jenner. "So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc?"

It was instantly quiet, _nice work Shane_. That was what I wanted to think, but the truth was that I was as curious as he was. Especially after hearing Kate and him talk about a cure. I still wasn't sure if there was one, but maybe if I'd ask Kate later she'd tell me. She would find out I'd been eavesdropping though, I wondered how she would react to that.

"All the- err- other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?" Shane finished his question. He was slightly buzzed, I could see, but he was sober enough to look serious.

"We're celebrating, Shane." Rick protested with an warning edge to his voice. "Don't need to do this now." He didn't want the mood ruined I guessed, but it was already too late for that.

Shane shot him a confused look, "Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here right? This was your move- supposed to find all the answers. Instead we-" He chuckled, "we found him. Found one man. Why?" No one else said anything, instead they waited for Jenner to answer.

He cleared his throat a second, then took a deep breath. "They went out looking for something, and never returned." He said, obviously wanting to be done with it.

"All of them?" Shane asked him, clearly not believing him.

Jenner shook his head, "Not all of them. Some left, to be with their families during this time. Then it got worse and some killed themselves, not daring to take a step outside and sick of being inside. We were left with only five doctors who were still looking for an answer. Four of them went out looking for something, one stayed behind in case he could find anything else."

This seemed to be believable enough for Shane. "Looking for what?" He asked then.

Jenner shrugged, but I didn't miss the quick glance he shot Kate. Kate was oblivious of the look though, instead staring at the floor in deep thought. I wondered why he had glanced at her after hearing the question, I didn't get it. He couldn't have been looking for her, right? Why would he have been? What the fuck did this guy have with Kaitlinn?

"Tissue samples from walkers and humans, basic things like that." Jenner told Shane while I was pondering this.

"And they didn't return?"

Jenner shook his head, looking rather regretful. "Two were supposed to come back and report their findings, the other two would be heading to another CDC base. I haven't seen any of them since they left."

"Why didn't you leave? Or kill yourself?" Andrea asked him.

He looked surprised for a moment but soon recovered. "I kept working, hoping to do some good." He explained.

Everyone at the table nodded slowly, understanding now. After a few moments of silence Glenn shot Shane a glare,

"Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man." He said.

I had to stop myself from laughing at that, finding it funny Shane was the one who was disliked at the moment. Normally it was me and Shane was the guy everyone loved. The stupid thing was that Shane had been right for asking, it was a question we were all wondering and he had been the only one with the balls to ask. It was fucked up, that's for sure, but Shane actually did something that I would've done if I hadn't been too caught up with the doctor's glances at Kate. Which I still didn't have a fucking answer for I realized as I gulped down the beer.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Author's Note:**_

_**HeyHey,**_

_**So here you have the next chapter, hope you like it! Special thanks for Scarlet Nyx for the reviews! **_

_**I really like reading reviews so please do tell me what you think! Follows and favorites are also greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading, and enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the walking dead, even though I do own a zombie at home, but that's a different story.**_

Chapter 20

Kaitlinn's POV

"Most of the facility is powered down. including housing, so you'll have to make do here." Jenner told everyone as we were walking through another hallway that lead to several rooms.

"The couches are comfortable, But there are cots in storage if you like." He continued, pointing to where we had to be if we needed anything.

He turned around to face the kids, who were walking up in front, and smiled.

"There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, ok?" Every one of the kids nodded, an excited glint in their eyes at the sound of 'rec room'.

"Or anything that draws power." Jenner finished. He straightened up again and addressed the whole group. "The same applies- if you shower, go easy on the hot water."

Then he left us, but not before shooting me a look that I didn't understand. He'd been doing that since the moment he'd let us in and it was getting on my nerves to be honest. After having talked to him it only got worse, and I actually regretted doing it. The bright side though was that I had hope again, even if it was faint and truth is there wasn't much left anymore. My mind had started wandering after the conversation I'd had with the doctor, it started wandering to how bad things could end for all of us if the cure wasn't found. I had tried to push the thoughts away, but it turned out to be impossible. Almost as impossible as envisioning this world turning into something better again.

I shook my head, focusing on Glenn and T-Dog who were grinning widely at the sound of the words 'hot water'. They laughed together and made their way to the room they would be sharing.

"You mind sharin' a room with me?" Daryl asked me, suddenly coming up to my right. I looked up in surprise, not having noticed he had been standing so close to me. "Sharin' one with Shane, well, let's say I'd rather kill myself." He explained, grimacing.

I laughed, hiding the fact that it hurt that he just wanted to share a room with me because he didn't want to share with Shane. Fuck I was being pathetic. What did I care if he even wanted to share a room with me? I had to admit though, it sounded good in my ears and I couldn't help but feel my heart skip a beat.

"Sure," I told him. "As long as you don't snore." I winked and turned around so I could try and calm my heart down. There was something wrong officially wrong with me, damn.

"Can't promise anythin'." He called after me as I made my way to go towards Carol and Lori, I rolled my eyes and chuckled softly.

"What was that about?" Lori asked me with an amused smile when I reached them.

I laughed, "I told him we could share a room as long as he didn't snore, looks like he does." I made a face which made both her and Carol laugh.

"Where are the kids sleeping?" I asked them next, needing a place for Zayn and Nico to stay if it were possible. I wanted them to get a good night's sleep, and that wouldn't be possible if all of us slept in the same room. Not everyone would fit on the couch, and even though Zayn wouldn't mind sleeping on the floor, I didn't want him to have to.

"Carl with me and Rick," Lori said. "And Sophia with Carol."

Carol smiled, "I can take in two more if you want me to? I can get a cot for Zayn, and Sophia won't mind sleeping on the couch with Nico."

That sounded perfect. That way all of the kids would sleep well, at least I hoped so. I smiled at her gratefully, "That would help a lot. One kid extra in the room should be possible, though with Daryl it might not be." I joked about the last part but the truth was I wondered if he would mind. He wasn't exactly someone I imagined getting along with kids, but on the other hand he was able to be nice so maybe he wouldn't mind after all.

Carol chuckled at the joke, so did Lori, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind." She said.

I nodded, smiling, "You really don't mind being stuck with the boys?" I asked next.

She shook her head, "Of course not, they're sweet. I think I can handle them."

"Thanks Carol." I told her with a grin. Suddenly I remembered that I'd gotten something for them from the gas station.

"Wait, I got something for you both." I pulled out two lady shaves and saw their eyes widen.

"Where did you-?" Lori asked, taking one.

I chuckled, "Gas station."

She laughed then and hugged me, "Thank you Kaitlinn. You're amazing."

Carol hugged me as well, a small smile on her face.

I said goodbye to them and went looking for Jacqui and Andrea, giving them both the same. They laughed when I gave it to them. Neither of them had been the same after all the deaths that happened at camp, so it was good to hear them laugh. I told them both to hang in there and went back to the room I'd be sleeping in.

It wasn't all too big, there was a couch in it, which would be where Kirra was sleeping tonight if Daryl didn't mind. If he did, well then I guess I would ask Shane if I could share a room with him instead. That idea didn't sound as good as sharing a room with Daryl though so I seriously hoped he wouldn't mind. I inspected the rest of the room, seeing a door that I guessed led to a bathroom, a cabinet with a lamp occupying it, and that was about it. It looked cozy though, and it was more than we had had in a long time.

I sat down on the couch with my head in my hands, trying to rub away the headache that had started forming. Suddenly the door I'd seen earlier opened and Daryl came walking out, guess I was right about it being the door tot he bathroom. Daryl was only wearing a towel around his waist, which left the rest for the eye to see. He froze when he saw me, obviously not having expected me to already be there, and I laughed.

"That's what you get when you share a room with someone who snores." I said in mock annoyance, teasing him. I quickly looked away though before he could see I was blushing. Truth is I wanted to stare at him some more because he was seriously good looking. He had just the right amount of muscle that made him look amazingly sexy, six pack included. It took me a while to be sure my blush had left my face and when I looked back I saw that he was smirking at me, still standing with only a towel around him.

"Had experience with snorin' guys before then, huh?" He asked, with a slight edge of what sounded like jealousy? No way, I was imagining things. His face still showed the smirk so he must be teasing me back, so why was my heart working overtime at the thought of him being jealous? What the hell?

"Not a lot." I admitted. "But that still doesn't take away the fact that I'm prejudiced." I said with a smirk of my own.

Daryl shook his head, a half smile on his face as he grabbed some clothes from a bag and went back inside the bathroom. When he came out next he was wearing the same plaid, no sleeve shirt he had been wearing before, just a different color. A dark blue color to be precise, which made his eyes come out. My heart jumped in my chest and I quickly jumped up, feeling jittery.

"Can I take a shower?" I asked him, wanting to get out of the room for some reason, while at the same time not wanting to move from this spot ever again. I grabbed a few clothes and my bag, not waiting for an answer. I went inside quickly, closing the door behind me and letting go of my breath. Why was I freaking out? I didn't understand myself. Fuck this.

"Enjoy." He called through the closed bathroom door, making me smile foolishly.

"I will." I yelled back, hearing him chuckle.

I got undressed quickly and hopped under the shower, wanting nothing more but to feel the water prickle my skin.

The hot water from the shower felt great. It eased my headache and as I let my joints relax I started feeling relaxed myself. I remembered Jenner's words though, not to waste the hot water, so I knew I had to get out eventually. I turned the shower off reluctantly and got out. It was a pretty big bathroom, a tub with a showerhead, a toilet and a sink. Above the sink was a mirror that was steaming up because of me.

I stepped out of the tub and put a leg on top of it so I could shave. I grabbed the ladyshave, I'd picked up for myself, from my bag and started shaving. It was great to be able to do this again, I hadn't been able to in months. Of course during an apocalypse there were other, more important, things to think about than smooth legs, but when I felt the smooth skin I smiled. Somehow it took the end of the world to make me smile at the little things.

I sighed, grabbing the clothes I'd took inside with me and getting dressed again, ready to take on anything. Well except maybe Daryl.

Daryl's POV

She was taking a shower just a few feet away from me and I was pretty sure she hadn't locked the door. It actually took me all of my willpower to stay down, but I did what was gentlemanlike. I couldn't just barge in there without an explanation, start kissing her for no reason and just hope she would-

_What the fuck? Where did that come from?_

I shook my head, getting the thoughts out. I was going crazy. I was about to get up and leave the room, which I thought would calm me down, when she suddenly came out of the bathroom. She was wearing clean shorts and a dark blue blouse of which the sleeves reached to her elbow. Her hair was wet and curling slightly, her eyes were still sparkling, but not with hope this time. I couldn't place what I saw however, and I honestly didn't want to. Instead I just wanted to look at her and enjoy the sight.

I guess I was staring as she laughed, "Disappointed I didn't come out like you did?" She asked playfully.

I smirked, "How'd you know?"

She had not expected this answer as I saw her turn slighty red. I chuckled and she scowled at me but there was a smile tugging at her lips anyway which told me she wasn't really mad.

"Kirra is sleeping in here tonight as well." She told me, putting her bag down and rummaging through it. "If you don't mind, that is."

"What will you do if I say I do mind?" I asked, not sure why I asked. Maybe because I was curious, or maybe because I wasn't thinking before I saying something.

She stopped rummaging and looked at me, "Ask Shane if I can go sleep there with Kirra." She simply said, eyeing me.

_Hell no_, I thought.

"As long as she won't be a bother, I don't care." I said then, but cringed as I realized what I'd just said. Could I really not control what I said once in a while? For example when I did _not _want to piss someone off, like right now.

She narrowed her eyes and shot me a glare, "She's not _'a bother'_."

I shrugged, wanting to apologize but thinking it wouldn't change anything anyway. "Then it's fine." I said instead, still cursing myself for saying what I'd said. I wasn't making it much better right now though, and I could see it.

She shook her head and I heard her curse at me, looking down at her bag. She looked up again a second later and I noticed her holding something in her hand.

"Here," she said, chucking whatever it was at me. "I got this for you when I believed you could be a nice guy if you wanted to be, guess I was wrong." She hissed, then stalked out of the room.

I had a great way of pissing people off, but I did not like that skill one bit right now as I looked down at what she'd gotten me. A carton of cigarettes, enough for a few weeks if I only took one a day. I hadn't been smoking much lately, trying to save cigarettes for the stressfull situations, but I guess she had noticed anyway.

"Fuck," I cursed, jumping up from the couch and going out to look for her. She'd gotten it for me and I had been a complete asshole towards her about Kirra. Why couldn't I just be nice once in a while, I hadn't even thought about it before I'd said it. Fucking hell. I hated myself for pissing her off and I cursed at myself for being such an idiot.

Kaitlinn's POV

Ok, so maybe I overreacted a bit, like I seemed to do whenever Daryl was involved. I mean, I knew he wasn't always a nice guy, mostly he was the asshole he was, but for some reason that didn't make it any better. Those kids are the only family I have left now and I knew I'd have to say goodbye to them eventually. So if someone said something bad about any of them, I'd get pissed. Natural reaction.

But that he had to say this about Kirra right before I wanted to give him the cigarettes to thank him, for everything, saving me, covering me, listening to me, putting up with me, let's just say it pissed me off more than usual. Why couldn't he just try and be nice for once? Fuck him.

I was on my way to the rec room, which was the only other room that I could go to right now. I wasn't much in the mood to talk to anyone and I thought no one would be in there, guess I was wrong. I heard something coming from the room and leaned my ear against the door to listen closer. Someone was whispering something but I couldn't make out what it was.

Then suddenly I heard Lori's voice, desperation evident in it. I didn't think before I acted, entering the room at the sound of my friend in need. I saw Shane kissing Lori while she obviously was trying to push him off. For a moment I froze, eyes wide and staring.

"Shane what the hell, man?" I asked him when I recovered, pulling him off of her with full force. He whirled around and I saw his eyes before I saw the fist flying at me. They were filled with anger meant for whoever had interrupted him, I guessed. When his fist made contact with my cheek and jaw I actually flew backwards a bit, onto the floor. I hadn't expected him to hit me so I hadn't braced myself for anything that included getting hit. That's why it probably hurt more than it normally did, lucky for me though all my teeth were still in as I could feel with my tongue.

"What the fuck did you just do?" I heard Daryl say. I looked up and saw him staring at me, while I was feeling my cheek up to see if it was bad or not. He glanced at Shane and I saw his face contort in anger. "Did I just see that?" He asked with a growl. "Because I fuckin' hope I didn't." His fists were turning white as he was clenching them and I noticed that Shane also saw it. He backed away a little, staring at Daryl and then glancing back at me. I could see confusion in his eyes, he was disoriented, probably drunk. Then he suddenly pushed past Daryl and hurried out of the room.

I could see Daryl was about to go after him, his fists still clenched, and I knew I had to stop him. I had to stop him or something bad would happen to either him or Shane, and I didn't want that. Shane getting hurt wouldn't be good for the group and Daryl getting hurt was something I did not want to happen at all.

"Daryl," I said, calling for his attention. He looked down at me and his eyes widened immediately, probably because my cheek looked bad. I was trying to ignore the stinging though, instead I reached up with my hand. "Could you help me up please?" I asked him then. He took my hand and pulled me up, his eyes full of concern and anger. I wasn't thinking of myself right now however, or my injury, instead I went over to Lori and took her hands in mine to see if she was ok. I don't know exactly what happened to get Shane to do this, but it had something to do with Lori. I wondered about this as I inspected her.

"Lori, are you ok?" I asked her, searching for her eyes.

She looked at me and tears formed in her eyes as she reached up to touch my cheek, "He hit you..." she whispered, her eyes wide in shock.

"I'm fine Lori, seriously Daryl scared him off already. Now I'm asking you if you're ok?"

It took her a second to realize I was talking to her but then she nodded, "Yeah, yeah I'm ok."

I smiled slighty, "Can you go back to your room or do you want to stay here a bit longer?"

She swallowed, "Can we stay a bit?" She whispered, sounding shocked and slightly scared. It wasn't anything like how she normally was, I guess she hadn't expected what happened. Then again, who would ever expect things like this to happen?

I nodded, turning to Daryl who seemed to be lost in thought. "Would you mind getting Kirra to go to bed already? Just tell her I'll be right there." He looked up at me, a haze of emotions in his eyes of which I could only discern the most evident, fury. He nodded once and turned around to leave, not saying anything. I couldn't ponder about him though as I had Lori to think about right now.

I sighed, closing the door behind him and leading Lori to the couch, putting an arm around her to console her. She was shaking and I pulled her in for a hug until she calmed down.

"I can't believe he did that." She said after having calmed down a bit. "He never tried to hurt me before, or anyone for that matter. Not like that. Not without a reason."

I smiled at her, "He was drunk. He didn't know what he was doing." I tried to convince her.

She looked me in the eye and shook her head, "I saw that he meant it, he wasn't going to stop. If you-" she stopped, not wanting to continue. "And now he hit you like this, it's fucked up." She whispered.

I shrugged, "The world is fucked up, and everyone in it. Nothing new."

She chuckled dryly then suddenly eyed me with curiosity. "And what was up with Daryl, I've never seen him this pissed at anyone before." She was trying to get the attention away from what just happened, at least her part in it. I understood this and played right along, wanting her to feel better.

I nodded slowly, wondering myself. "I don't know. He probably just didn't like that Shane hit someone without a reason. He doesn't like Shane anyway."

She narrowed her eyes, "I think it's more than that." She muttered but I didn't ask what she meant. "Do you like him?" She asked suddenly.

I knew what she meant and my heart stopped as she asked it.

What did she just say? Me like _him_? Hell no. On the other hand, it would explain why I had been freaking out before, and why I blushed when seeing him half naked. It also explained why I didn't want him to get mad at me. Could it really be? But that was insane. I'd get myself hurt bad if I started to care for him, or would I?

The confusion and the questions running through my head made my headache start up again and I groaned in frustration.

"I don't know." I admitted. "I might."


	21. Chapter 21

_**Author's note: HeyHey people,**_

_**So yeah, I'm at school right now and I'm already bored out of my mind. So I decided to post chapter 21 and work on the next chapter so I have time for homework when I get home. **_

_**Thanks to Beckah Godric-Northman and Scarlet Nyx for the reviews! **_

_**I hope that what comes next is a surprise and that it wasn't all too predictable. Please let me know what you think!**_

_**Enjoy**_

Chapter 21

Daryl's POV

I've wanted to kill people before. Rick for example when he came back without Merle, my father whenever he hit my mother, Merle for being sent to juvie again, let's just say I'm familiar with the feeling. Right now though, I wanted to kill Shane more than I have ever wanted to kill anyone. I was actually contemplating getting up and going to his room to beat the crap out of him. I still couldn't believe he hit Kaitlinn. I might not like the guy, but I knew he wasn't someone who went around hitting people. I didn't care however, I wanted to hurt him bad. Maybe it was the booze talking, I didn't know. I couldn't get up however, I'd promised Kate to get Kirra to go to bed and now that she was finally sleeping peacefully, at least I thought she was, I didn't want to wake her by getting up.

I wasn't sleeping. Actually I was more awake than I had been in weeks. I was staring up at the ceiling, waiting for Kaitlinn to get back. I wasn't about to go asleep not knowing if she was ok or not. My thoughts though were driving me insane, I kept wondering if Shane might've gone back and that that was the reason Kaitlinn still wasn't back. She'd told me she would be here soon, but she wasn't. Shane wouldn't dare though, he had seen how mad I was before. If he had however, if he actually went back and did something else to Kaitlinn, I swear he would not live to see another day.

"Son of a bitch." I hissed, almost too soft for myself to hear, remembering what I had seen. I'd gone looking for Kate after getting her mad at me, I didn't know exactly what I had been planning, something like apologizing I guess, but that didn't matter. I was on my way to Carol's room, where I knew the kids were and I hoped Kate would be too, when I suddenly heard a noise coming from the rec room.

The moment I entered I saw Shane's fist flying towards Kate, I couldn't do anything to prevent it from happening. The next thing I know she's on the ground, reaching up to feel her cheek, which had turned red. I don't exactly remember what I said to Shane, I was pissed though and on the verge of breaking his nose. When he made his way past me I wanted to grab him and hit him hard enough to knock him out. I didn't however, as Kate was calling out my name and asking for my attention.

I wanted to ask her if she was ok, but she already reached out with her hand and asked me to help her up. Afterwards I didn't get the chance either because she was already heading over to Lori, as if she didn't care about what had just happened to her at all. She was trying to comfort Lori and then asked me if I would mind bringing Kate to bed already. I couldn't say no, I wanted to help her with whatever she needed help with. If that meant bringing a kid to bed, I'd do it.

I rolled over to look at Kirra, she was on her side, facing away from me. It had taken a lot of convincing for her to come with me, the only reason she did was because Zayn had told her it was ok. She'd been playing some game with her brothers in Carol's room before I came to get her. When I told her to go lie on the couch and get some sleep she pouted, asking for a bedtime story. Now that was too much to ask, more because I didn't have any bedtime stories ready than anything else. I decided to tell her that Kate would tell her one when she got back, hoping she'd fall asleep before that happened. I guess it worked, because she seemed to be sleeping now.

Suddenly the door opened, sending a ray of light into the room. I closed my eyes, acting like I was asleep. I didn't want her thinking I'd stayed up especially for her, even if it was true. Why didn't I want her thinking that? I couldn't think of an answer to that question even if I wanted to.

"Kate?" Kirra whispered softly.

The rustling of clothes that had started when Kate was getting undressed stopped at the sound of Kirra's voice, and I guessed Kaitlinn looked up with that surprised look on her face she had sometimes. So the little girl wasn't asleep after all, damn. I sure hoped Kate wouldn't be pissed because of that.

"Kirra," She whispered, indeed sounding surprised. "Why are you still awake?" She asked disapprovingly.

"Daryl wouldn't tell me a bedtime story." She said with what I imagined was the same pout she'd given me. I felt like she was telling on me, and felt foolish for even feeling that way. I was afraid Kaitlinn might get mad at me to deny Kirra a story, and to not get her to go to sleep, but instead she chuckled softly and I heard her climb onto the couch with Kirra.

"Then I'll tell you one." She whispered, not sounding like she minded at all.

I still had my eyes closed and did my best to control my breathing, so it would sound like I was asleep. I wanted to listen in to the story, wondering what kind of bedtime story she would be telling.

"What do you want a story about tonight?" Kaitlinn asked to my surprise.

"A zombie.." Kirra whispered back, sounding a little uncertain. It stayed quiet for a second before Kaitlinn asked her why.

"Because there must be a good zombie out there, who falls in love with a princess." The girl said with a certain conviction that only children could have.

Kaitlinn chuckled sadly, "Of course there is." She said. "Now let me think for a second."

I hadn't expected her to think of a story on the spot, but she was doing exactly that right now. It amazed me how she was able to do that, and I guess that was the reason I listened to a story about a zombie falling in love with a princess, a prince that was jealous and tried to kill the zombie and a dragon that ate the prince and became the zombie and princess' pet. Somehow it wasn't even that bad of a story, it put a smile on my face anyway. A smile I did my best to hide considering I was supposed to be asleep.

Maybe it was the absurdity of the story, or maybe it was Kate's voice that sounded through the quiet room. The reason didn't matter, the only thing that mattered was that I fell asleep the moment the story was finished, feeling more relaxed than I had in weeks. I hadn't heard a lot of bedtime stories in my life, I was just supposed to fall asleep. That was part of the reason I was surprised that listening to her telling a bedtime story, made me smile like it did.

Maybe it wasn't the story, maybe it was the fact she was the one telling it.

* * *

General POV

It was dark around the CDC building, also underground. The work stations had been powered down for the night by Vi and normally Dr Jenner would be sleeping. Actually he was the only one still up at this hour, whatever 'this hour' was, it's hard to tell when you're underground.

He was tiptoeing through the hallway, not wanting to wake up the guests he'd let in. Not that he thought that was possible, they had looked exhausted and probably hadn't had a good night's sleep in ages. He didn't risk it though. He knew their survival instincts had been working overtime for the past few months, which meant they might just be evolved enough to wake up at the smallest of sounds. He didn't want to get caught sneaking around in the dark, that would bring up questions and he still didn't trust them enough to answer those questions.

He'd had his doubts before letting them enter, still had, but the brown haired woman had been interesting enough to allow entrance. She actually was the only reason he'd let them in. She might just be what he'd been searching for since his colleague had told him what she'd found out. Sarah had had contacts all over the country she talked to about the infection. One of those contacts had found information on a girl who had been bitten, a girl who hadn't died.

That was about two months ago if he was right, he hadn't heard from Sarah since. He wasn't even sure if she was still alive, but she might be. The plan had been for her to head over to the other CDC centre, the one that was situated inside a refugee camp. Maybe she'd made it, he hoped she had at least. She'd been the one to point them in the direction of the cure, without her he wasn't even sure if he could make it. Probably not, she had always been better at the job than he was, even better than his wife had been.

He started jogging towards the big room after having passed the last occupied room, wanting nothing more but to get this over with. He wasn't sure what to expect, but if there was really no one out there anymore he'd rather know it sooner than later.

He decided to leave the lights off, not wanting anyone to wake up anytime soon and find him here. That would surely get him into trouble. Even if he told them he was working, they would want to know on what. And he couldn't tell them he was working on someone in their group, that would only make it worse.

Dr Jenner took place behind his usual work station, using the light the clock gave off to find it, and turned on his desk lamp and his computer. He remembered how earlier in the evening Kaitlinn had suddenly appeared to ask him a question, a question about the cure. Now _that _had left him speechless. He bit his lip as he thought of the answer he had given her. He hadn't thought it to be fair to keep the fact he might be onto something from her, but he couldn't tell her it was her he was onto either. He had had to think about his answers carefully.

He sighed and focused back on the screen instead of feeling guilty about not telling the woman the whole truth. The screen of his computer started out black, nothing out of the ordinary. Then suddenly there were two words on the screen, blinking in green.

_Begin Transmission_

"Hello, Jenner here." The doctor started. "It's day 195 since wildfire was declared and 64 days since the disease abruptly went global. There is no clinical progress to report. There has been something else going on though. I had guests knocking at the door today." He hesitated a moment before continuing. "I wanted to follow protocol, and I would have, if not for a young woman that was a part of that group. Now I still am not sure if there is anyone out there, so I'll just say it and hope for the best."

The doctor sighed once, rubbing his eyes and then facing the computer again, taking a deep breath. "I believe that woman is Subject C1." He said.

He stared at the screen expectantly, hoping for an answer from someone out there who was listening. Finding Subject C1 was something that had to elicit a response from anyone who was still out there. Even if it was some guy from Russia he wouldn't be able to understand Jenner wouldn't care, he just needed to know he wasn't the only one still trying to find a cure.

When nothing happened within the next few seconds he sighed, deciding to try once more. If it didn't work this time he would end the transmission to save power. He would have to find out how to do it on his own then.

"I repeat, I believe I have found Subject C1. Anyone out there who reads me, please respond."

The screen was still showing nothing but black and the doctor sighed in defeat. He was about to turn the computer off when suddenly a window opened on the screen and another face appeared. Jenner was staring at the screen, his eyes wide. There was someone responding! That wasn't the most amazing thing of what was happening though. He knew the woman responding. She looked worse than she had when he'd last seen her but it was unmistakably her. The woman had blonde hair and blue, penetrating eyes he'd only seen twice in his life. The second time was today, in the kids that he had allowed entrance with the rest of the group.

The woman was Sarah, his colleague.

"Hello there Edwin." She said, smiling just slightly.

Jenner could only stare at the woman, before exclaiming something that resembled "You're alive!" with a few swear words in it.

She nodded, "I am." She said calmly, not commenting on his use of language.

"Why didn't you respond to my earlier messages?" He asked, sounding upset. He didn't care however, finally he knew he wasn't the only one from his team still alive. He was allowed to be upset for this tiny moment.

"We were trying to save power over here. You should have done so as well." She said with a disapproving glare. He couldn't believe she was talking to him like this after such a long time. It shouldn't have surprised him though, this _was_ the woman who had sacrificed her three children for the research she was doing. Well it turns out the kids weren't dead, but still she hadn't backed down from putting them in harm's way.

"I understand you have Subject C1 in your facility?"

The doctor nodded slowly, remembering she wasn't the kind of person to divert from business.

"I believe so, yes."

She nodded, typing a few things on the keyboard she had in front of her, looking at another computer screen.

"Do you have a picture?"

The woman sounded emotionless, and as Dr Jenner pulled up the picture he'd taken with the camera that hung outside of the building and sent it to her, her face didn't change. Even the sight of her own kids didn't seem to make her happy, Jenner wondered what was wrong with his colleague. He had forgotten about how emotionless she could be after those months of missing people around him. His imagination had changed her from the woman she actually was, to someone who could be kind when she wanted to be. Guess his imagination was playing him.

She narrowed her eyes at the picture and nodded. "That is indeed Subject C1. And she has been able to keep the kids alive I see, now that is quite impressive." She said in a matter of fact way. "You followed protocol?" She asked next.

He nodded slowly, taking out the blood test results. Protocol said that if they found, or thought they'd found, Subject C1 they were supposed to draw a blood sample to confirm. Of course he couldn't have asked only Kaitlinn to give a sample, that would've been suspicious, and so he had asked everyone to give their blood.

_Suspicious_

That word reminded him of someone in the group, Daryl he thought he'd heard his name was. The guy had noticed Jenner shooting Kaitlinn several glances, and he hadn't looked all too happy about that. He didn't seem to trust the doctor. Jenner had tried to look at her as little as possible, but he hadn't been able to help himself, not when the cure he'd been working so long and hard for was almost within reach. The woman was fascinating, a subject of science.

"Has she changed her name?" The woman on the screen asked, typing again.

Jenner shook his head, frowning slightly. "I don't think so. She still goes by Kaitlinn at least, I don't know about her last name."

The woman nodded thoughtfully, "That's good," she said. "It means everything is going according to plan."

Jenner's eyebrows raised in surprise, "I thought the plan had been to get her off the streets and up to Jacksonville by last week."

The woman's scowl made him shiver in his seat, she was ruthless and scary, she really was. He pitied those kids of her's and almost felt sorry for going to be taking away Kaitlinn from them as well. Everything for science though, that had been the team's motto anyway.

"I was talking about plan C." She spat, obviously not happy with the fact Jenner knew the plan had gone wrong. "Now what are those blood results?" she demanded.

Dr. Jenner sighed, wondering what plan B had been then. He'd known about plan A, about how she was supposed to be lured in with the idea she was going to New York, to safety, but that obviously had gone wrong. Plan B and C had never been explained, considering they had been sure the first plan would work. The naivety of scientists was quite astonishing sometimes.

"Her blood matches 94% with the predicted results. She has 35% more leukocytes in her blood than the average person, while we believed it to be around 27% more, and there are no infected agents in her blood."

The woman stopped typing for a second, looking at Dr Jenner. "And she is not showing any symptoms, correct?"

Dr Jenner nodded, "She is completely healthy, unlike the others."

The others had all shown infected agents in their blood, they were infected. That hadn't surprised him though, his team had quickly found out that everyone was infected, even them. The only person who wasn't was her, Kaitlinn. And maybe other humans on the planet they hadn't heard of yet.

The woman looked at him, obviously annoyed, "I don't care about 'the others' Dr Jenner, I'd like you to stick with the subject at hand."

Of course she doesn't care, he thought to himself, why would she?

"Was that all to report?" She asked, finishing up whatever she was typing. He nodded and for a moment a satisfied smile played on her lips.

"Would you mind telling me what plan C is exactly? What ever happened to plan B anyway?"

Her face turned serious instantly, the smile making place for a scowl again. "Plan B blew up when the facility in New Orleans did." She said with absolutely no emotion except annoyance that was directed at him. "As for plan C, you will be convincing them to come over to us."

He stared at her, not sure if he'd heard that correctly. "And how do you suppose I do that?"

She shrugged, "We're a refugee camp, what is there to convince them of?" He looked at her confused.

"I thought you weren't letting anyone else in?"

"We aren't, but they don't have to know that, now do they?"

This woman is heartless, Jenner thought, but he knew she was right. He should be able to lead them there, lead her there, if he tells them it's a refugee camp. But could he really lie to them and make them believe they can find safety when no one is allowed entrance? Then he would be as heartless as this woman, and he didn't want that.

"To help you along, we'll be starting the clock at five hours tomorrow, if you don't get out before that, you die. And Subject C1 dies along with you. You know what that would mean for the world right?"

He swallowed, knowing exactly what would happen. Nothing, and that would destroy the world.

"Why can't I examine her here?" He asked the woman, trying to get out of lying to the group.

The woman stood up, "I won't be answering that question Dr Jenner. Now I wish you a good night. Remember, five hours starting at 10 in the morning. Get out of there and come towards us. We'll be ready for you."

"No wait! Sarah!" He called out but the woman had left the screen already. "Fuck." He cursed, tipping the chair he'd been sitting on over as he stood up.

This woman left him with no choice, except maybe dying and forgetting about everything. That didn't even sound like such a bad idea, he thought as he slid to the floor. He held his head in his hands thinking about what to do next. He hadn't wanted to die just yet, but now he wasn't so sure anymore. Maybe death was easier. It would surely be a hell of a lot easier than finding a cure for this horrible infection.

Suddenly he laughed, thinking back to how he'd wanted more action right before the apocalypse started. Guess you really do get what you ask for sometimes.


	22. Chapter 22

_**Author's Note: **_

_**Hey everyone,**_

_**Here you have chapter 22, I hope you like it! Please tell me what you think! Every review is appreciated, just like every follow and favorite! Thank you for reading, hope you enjoy.**_

Chapter 22

Kaitlinn's POV

I woke up with Kirra curled up against me. A smile played on my lips at seeing her eyelids flutter while she was dreaming. She looked so innocent like this and I hoped she was dreaming about the story I'd told her yesterday. She had surprised me by wanting a story about a zombie, but I hadn't backed away from the challenge, whatever bad memories would resurface. She had wanted to believe that there were walkers out there that were nice, why crush her dream? She's just a kid, she deserves to believe these things, for as long as she still can.

I slowly pulled back from her, moving to the side of the couch and putting my feet down softly. Lucky for me she was a sound sleeper and there would have to be a lot of noise to wake her. I got up and stood there for a second, my eyes wandering from Kirra down to Daryl. He was lying on his stomach, his lower half under the blanket. His mouth was hanging slightly open and he looked really cute, which wasn't a word that I would normally use to describe him. I wanted to laugh at the thought of him finding out I thought he was cute, but I didn't. I didn't want to risk waking him up, and my thoughts were confusing me.

I don't know what brought me to telling Lori that I actually liked Daryl. Not that it wasn't true, because there was no way I could deny that he had a certain effect on me, but still. I haven't 'liked' anyone since senior year in high school and when walkers started appearing everywhere romance wasn't exactly a priority. Of course I always dreamt about a prince on a white horse that would take me away from this nightmare, but let's be honest here. Daryl wasn't exactly a prince, or someone who would ride horses.

That wasn't what worried me though, I liked him because of who he was, not of what I thought him to be. What _does _worry me is the fact that I wasn't even sure if there really was a place for romance in this world anymore, especially with Daryl. Yes, he did come to my rescue last night, he did help me retrieve my bags and he did come looking for me in the woods, but that probably was because he still felt guilty for shooting me with that arrow. There was no way he was thinking about things like this with everything else going on, there was just no way.

I sighed, pulling myself away from watching Daryl sleep and tiptoeing towards the bathroom with the pair of shorts and the blouse I'd worn yesterday. I'd changed into a big shirt to sleep in last night, trying to be quiet and not wake Daryl and Kirra. Turned out Kirra had already been awake, still waiting for a bedtime story.

I chuckled as I remembered she told me that Daryl hadn't told her a story, like I chuckled last night. The thought of Daryl telling a story about a princess, which all Kirra's stories had to be about, was just really laughable. I wasn't angry at him for not telling her a story, he had already done enough by telling her to go to bed, that's all I could really ask of him.

I took off my shirt and put on my bra and blouse while wondering if what I'd said to Lori was true or not. I wondered if he really would have felt the same anger if Shane would've hit someone else. Truth is I didn't know, but Lori had seemed genuinely surprised at his anger, so maybe not. Was it bad of me to want to think that I was special for him as well, and that that was the reason he'd gotten so angry?

_Damn, _I thought as I shook the thought out and started putting on my pair of shorts. _You seriously gotta get your thoughts in order._ I told myself.

I sighed and pulled my hair back, turning around to glance in the mirror to see if I looked presentable enough. The moment I saw myself I froze, _shit._

The place I got hit yesterday had turned purple. It wasn't a light purple that I might've been able to cover up with my hair, it was a dark purple that stood out against my skin. I narrowed my eyes at the sight but felt grateful for the fact it wasn't swelling, at least that was something good. Now I just needed an excuse, an answer to the questions that would surely pop up in the heads of everyone who saw me. I cursed inwardly, wishing I had make up. Not that it could be fixed with make up, no make up in the world could completely cover up this bruise, but at least I could make it look more faint.

I touched it lightly, it didn't hurt that much. Then again, I guess after having an arrow lodged in my shoulder my tolerance for pain had increased. I decided to try and situate my hair over it a bit so the bruise wouldn't immediately jump out at people, but it didn't work. I really should come up with some kind of excuse then, I thought as I opened the bathroom door. Walking against the door frame probably has been used too often, they would see right through that. This might be harder than I thought it to be.

It took my eyes a second to adjust, but soon I saw Daryl leaning against the wall beside the door. He was already wearing his shorts, but he was still shirtless. He smirked when he saw me looking at him, but who could blame me. He looked good. I hid my blush by smiling at him, trying to ignore the thoughts that sprung up about what I'd told Lori yesterday. It was still dark in the room, which meant that the only light came from the bathroom door that was now open. It also meant my face wasn't yet visible to him, he couldn't see the blush, nor could he see the bruise.

"I heard you denied her a bedtime story last night?" I said, my voice low, so I wouldn't wake Kirra, and my arms crossed over my chest in mock disapproval.

He shrugged, "Figured you'd be better at it. Guess I was right." He flashed me a grin and my eyes widened. He would only be able to know I was better at telling stories than him, if he'd listened in. "I loved the zombie in your story, he was a really strong character." He continued with a joking edge, confirming my suspicions.

I laughed, turning towards Kirra to see if we hadn't woken her up by talking. The moment I saw him push himself off the wall from the corner of my eye, I knew I'd made a mistake. I quickly turned towards him as he was making his way to me. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me back into the bathroom, which still was the only place with light. I cringed when he touched my wound but he had his attention somewhere else and so he didn't let go until we were both inside. He took my chin in his hand as he inspected my cheek and jaw, a frown on his face.

I saw him clench his own jaw and narrow his eyes. "That son of a bitch." He hissed, letting go of me and clenching his fists. I knew he wanted to go after Shane, just like I had known last night. I grabbed his lower arm as I took a step forward, making him look me in the eye.

He was close now, his face just a few inches away from mine and I had to swallow the lump that had formed in my throat before I could speak.

"I'm fine Daryl," I told him when I was able to. I noticed how he still wasn't wearing a shirt and how his bare arm felt under my fingers. Touching him made tiny sparks of electricity shoot through me, it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. I wanted to lean in and press my lips against his, I wanted to reach up and wrap my arms around his neck. His blue eyes were clear, showing me that he knew exactly how close we were standing.

I had something to say, something I had to focus on, the only problem was that I had forgotten all about what it was I needed to say. It had something to do with Shane, with what happened last night, but I couldn't remember. I was lost in his eyes, my heartbeat having picked up speed. If I just leaned in a bit, I thought to myself, what would happen then? What-

"Kate?"

Kirra's voice startled me and I backed away from Daryl instantly. He stepped aside as well, breathing just a bit heavier than normal as he turned around to look at the little girl who was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Yes, sweetie?" I asked her when I found my voice back.

"I need to pee."

I laughed but it sounded strange, forced. I was still trying to wrap my mind around what had just happened, or rather not happened.

"Sorry sweetie, we'll get out." I told her, walking back into the room that was still dark. I decided to turn the lights on as I sat down on the couch, my heart still racing. Daryl stood there, staring at the floor. The silence was horrible and I closed my eyes to block out any thoughts so I could speak normally.

"Promise me you won't tell anyone about what happened yesterday, which also means you can not go hitting Shane." I then said, not looking up.

"What?" He asked.

This time I did look up, not sure what he was feeling. "No one can know what happened, no one can know that Shane hit me." I told him again.

"Did that son of a bitch threathen you or somethin'?" He asked, anger evident in his voice.

I shook my head, "No of course not." I said, not getting why he would think like that.

"Then why would you want to act like he didn't do _that_?" He hissed, gesturing at my face.

"Because that won't help the relationships in the group, Daryl. We have to stick together and I don't want to be the cause of some internal fued that drives everyone apart, ok?"

"It wasn't your fuckin' fault! You wouldn't be the cause of anythin'. That son of a bitch hit _you_, not the other way around."

I looked at him. "I don't care, I still don't want anyone to know."

He stared me down, his eyes filled with anger. When he nodded curtly though, I knew he understood, even if he didn't like it. He turned around and left without another word, slamming the door shut behind him. I cringed at the sound, feeling bad for making him do this.

It wasn't that I didn't blame Shane. I mean even though he was drunk it wasn't normal to try and rape Lori and then hit the person who was trying to stop him from hurting her. It's just that if the group found out Shane had hit me, I didn't know what would happen. Who would be mad at who, what would be found out. If Rick found out about Shane and Lori for example, he might actually get mad enough at Shane that they wouldn't be able to work together anymore. Actually that wasn't a 'might actually' but rather a 'will'. And that wouldn't be good for the group, at all. We were supposed to stay together, to watch after each other and to protect each other. Internal fueds would only get in the way.

Plus if Daryl hit Shane I was pretty sure Shane would fight back, and I didn't want Daryl to get hurt.

* * *

Daryl's POV

_What the fuck was that just now? _I asked myself, making my way through the hallway towards the kitchen where we'd all had dinner last night.

My heart was still beating like crazy, thinking back to how close she had been. I shook my head, pushing the thought out and hurried inside. I saw most people were already up, except for Jenner, Carol and Sophia and Kate and Kirra everyone was there. One face though stood out from the rest, Shane's.

He looked up as I entered, like everybody did, and I held his gaze, shooting him a murderous glare.

Kate had said not to tell anyone about what happened and not to hit him, she hadn't said anything about having to be nice. Maybe because she knew that would've been too much to ask, I wasn't sure.

My thoughts went back to right before she asked me to act like nothing happened, back to when we were standing so close. Her hand had felt warm on my arm, sending a jolt of electricity through me. I had wanted to kiss her more than anything, but I was afraid to move. I don't know if it was the fact she looked damn sexy with her hair a mess like that, even with the bruise, or that it was that I hadn't kissed anyone in months. Maybe a combination of the two. It didn't matter however, as I didn't kiss her. Nothing happened, and right now I wanted to punch myself for that. Punching Shane would make me feel better though, the problem with that was that I promised not to, _fuck. _

I grabbed a glass from the counter and enjoyed the thoughts of hitting Shane while I opened the fridge to see what we had. If I couldn't do it in real life, I might as well have fun imagining it. When I found a carton of orange juice in the door I grinned. Just what I craved after a night like last night. I poured myself a glass and looked around the table that was in front of me, finding Glenn moaning in the corner and Jacqui behind him, rubbing his shoulders to try and comfort him.

"How are you feelin' this mornin', chinaman?" I asked him mockingly, getting a moan in return.

"Promise me you won't ever let me drink again." He muttered.

I chuckled, gulping down my glass, "That's what I said the first time as well, believe it or not." I told him. "By noon though I was already back to drinkin' again."

He looked up at me with disbelief in his eyes and I grinned at him. He groaned again and Jacqui shot me a glare. Not that I cared, she could glare at me all she wanted. The only person I ever seemed to care with if she glared at me or not, was Kate.

"Zayn!" Kirra suddenly shouted as she came running in, making everyone look up. "Kate got hurt!"

She sounded upset and Zayn was up from his chair instantly, Nico as well. Everyone else had a frown on their face, wondering what was going on.

"I'm fine." I heard Kate say when she followed Kirra into the kitchen. "I just fell is all." She reassured Zayn, but he was staring at her with wide eyes, probably not hearing anything she was saying. Actually everyone was staring at her right now, including me.

"You're face, it's-" Andrea started, wide eyed.

"Yeah," Kate said, making a face. "Who knew bathroom floors could be slippery after a shower." She tried to joke. I caught her eye and she seemed like she needed me to confirm that her excuse was credible enough. I nodded, not smiling though, wasn't really feeling like it. She was letting Shane off way too easy in my opinion, I didn't like that.

Speaking of Shane, I noticed he couldn't even look at Kate, which did me good. At least he was feeling guilty, that was something at least. He was staring at his plate, not touching the eggs T-Dog had made.

"Want some eggs Kate?" T-Dog asked Kaitlinn, holding out the pan for her.

She grinned, "I'd love some." She replied. "Kirra come on if you want some eggs."

Kirra hopped onto her knee quickly, seemingly having recovered from the shout she'd given before. They ate together, acting like nothing happened. Everyone else had returned their attention to their own plates or conversations as well, not even doubting what happened. I noticed Zayn shooting glances at Kate though, his eyebrows knitted together while he was thinking. I guessed he didn't believe her excuse of having fallen, I couldn't blame him. Kate was the only one here who was good enough at acting to keep up the pretense that nothing had happened. Lori and Shane were obviously trying not to look at each other, the former glancing at Kate every once in a while to check if she was alright. I had to admit I found Kate's excuse pretty damn good, other than Zayn no one else seemed to think anything of it.

I filled my glass a second time, bringing it over to where Kate was sitting. I didn't know why I did it, maybe because I felt bad for her, for not being on time to stop Shane from hitting her. I normally wasn't this nice, but normal pretty much left my vocabulary the moment I shot her. Since then my feelings have been on a rollercoaster, one that still wasn't over. I did things without thinking around her, which I never do. It was confusing as shit and it annoyed the hell out of me. Right now though it just felt right.

"For the bruise." I told her softly as I handed her the glass. She shot me a grateful, and at the same time guilty, looking smile.

Was she really feeling guilty for making me keep the reason for the bruise to myself? That was insane. I had known she was right the moment she told me to keep it quiet, even if I didn't like it. The group was unstable enough as it is, without any fights. Now I didn't know what Shane had been doing with Lori before I entered the rec room last night, I didn't even know why he hit Kate, but I knew no one would be all too happy about it. Even if he used being drunk as an excuse.

"These eggs are delicious T-Dog." Kate complimented the man, making him beam at her, obviously loving to hear that. I think it was the first time I'd seen her eat with pleasure instead of guilt for using something that would run out eventually, and I had to admit it was something I liked to see.

"Glenn, you need some more aspirin?" Lori asked him.

He looked up and nodded, "Please," he groaned, taking the painkillers and swallowing them with a gulp of water immediately.

Kaitlinn looked over at Glenn and then at Lori. _Hangover?_ she mouthed. Lori nodded and Kate smiled sympatethically at him, but he didn't notice.

"It's all Daryl's fault." Glenn moaned, holding his head in his hands.

Everyone looked up at me and I raised my hands in defense, "I just told him to keep on drinkin'. I never actually _made_ him."

I saw Kate chuckle at this as she let Kirra eat the remainder of the eggs on her plate.

"He's right Glenn," she defended me. "He never made you."

I smirked as I heard her back me up, liking it more than I should. Glenn moaned something back but I didn't really hear it as that was when Jenner came walking in, looking rather tired, bags under his eyes and all.

"Morning." He said, going over to the counter to grab the coffee he seemed to so desperately need.

"Hey, Doc." Shane said. It was the first time I'd heard him speak and truth is that it made me want to hit him all over again.

"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing-" Dale started suddenly, making me forget about wanting to hit Shane for the moment.

"But you will anyway." Jenner finished for him, chuckling dryly.

"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea said next. "We came to find answers."

Jenner looked at the both of them, his mouth in a straight line as he took a sip of his coffee. "After breakfast we'll head over to the work stations. I'll give you the answers I have." He said it while glancing at Kate, who was asking Kirra if she liked the food and so was oblivious to his gaze. I narrowed my eyes when I saw him doing that, feeling like hitting something again.

Was it that I was easily annoyed or were these guys trying to actually piss me off this morning? And why did it seem like everything I am pissed about, always has something to do with Kaitlinn?


	23. Chapter 23

_**Author's Note: Sorry if this chapter is a bit boring, I had to add things Jenner said in the series. It's not all in there, that was too long, so I just chose some things and hope it's enough. I promise next chapter will be a bit more exciting, well I hope you'll think it's exciting anyway. I also hope you don't hate this chapter, please let me know what you think.**_

_**Thanks to TWDfan for the guest review. I know I let Shane off easy, but if they start to fight Rick would want to know why, which wouldn't exactly benefit the relationships in the group. I'm not saying Rick will never find out, nor am I saying that Daryl will never hit him. Maybe I'll even let him shoot the guy, haha. I'll have to see about that. **_

_**T**__**hanks to Scarlet Nyx for the review as well. I have to see what I do about Shane, maybe if no one likes him anymore... Well you know. **_

_**So readers, tell me please what you want to happen to Shane, or just tell me what you want to happen with other characters. I'll see what I can do.**_

_**I've got a few more comments for after you readers have read the chapter, so those are at the end, haha.** _

Chapter 23

Kaitlinn's POV

"Give me playback of TS19." Jenner said, his voice shaking slightly. I guess he was nervous to give us answers, but I didn't quite understand why. He'd told me the cure was being worked on, so what reason did he have to be nervous? I didn't get all too much time to mull over that though, as Vi interrupted my thoughts

"Playback of TS19" the computer voice said.

"Few people ever got a chance to see this." Jenner addressed us, "Very few." He sounded less than willing to show us, but he hadn't seemed all that willing to give us answers either. When Andrea and Dale had asked him, he had not looked happy, at all.

We had finished breakfast in silence, no one daring to break the silence and say something. There had been an air surrounding the breakfast table that Carol picked up on the moment she had entered. After everybody was finished eating we followed Jenner to the big room. It had looked even less inviting than the first time we'd been here, now that we knew what had happened to the people who used to occupy these work stations.

"Take us in for EIV." Jenner said next.

"Taking in for enhanced internal vision." Vi said.

The first thing the screen showed was a human brain, when it zoomed in the view changed. It started showing lights that traveled fast along things that looked kind of like highways, only a whole mix of them.

"What are those lights?" Shane asked the doctor. He was standing to the back, away from both Lori and me. Lori was at the front with Rick, Carl and Zayn. Andrea and Dale were standing next to them. Glenn and T-Dog held back a bit, Jacqui as well. I was next to Daryl, leaning against a work station, and had a view on the screen from the left. Carol was next to me, her arms around Sophia who was right in front of her. Kirra and Nico were both sitting on the floor in front of me, their heads tilted backwards to be able to look at the screen.

"Everything." Jenner answered. "Somewhere inside those lights is you. The thing that makes you unique and human."

"You don't make sense ever?" Daryl asked him next.

I had to hold back laughter and Daryl noticed. When I looked up he was smirking and sent me a wink. I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help the smile on my face. I was glad he wasn't mad at me over the whole "Shane" thing. I'd noticed him shoot Shane murderous glares during breakfast and had been afraid that one of those glares would meet my eyes too soon. When he brought me orange juice however, I knew he understood why I didn't want him to start a fight. I also knew he wasn't mad at me, which did me good.

"Those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages." Jenner clarified but Daryl's eyebrows just raised in more confusion.

I elbowed him in the ribs, but not hard enough to hurt him. "What happened to Doctor Dixon?" I whispered, making sure no one else could hear.

He shrugged, "It was a moment of clarity, they never take that long." He whispered back, a slight smirk on his face.

I chuckled softly and focused on Andrea, who'd just asked a question.

"Who is it?" She asked next, obviously already having received an answer from Jenner. An answer I'd missed because of Daryl. Not that I cared, I would choose talking to him over listening to Jenner anytime. I didn't really have a choice though, what Jenner was saying was important so I had to at least try and listen.

"Test subject 19." Jenner replied. "Someone who was bitten and who volunteered to have us record the process."

Andrea nodded slowly, showing him she understood. I frowned, thinking of how horrible it must've been for the person, knowing he or she was going to die and just waiting for it. I shivered, but not from the cold.

"Vi, scan forward to first event." Jenner told the computer.

"Scanning to first event."

The big screen changed, going back to the human head, a clearly visible brain inside of it. There was something dark crawling, through what looked like veins, up to the brain.

"The brain stem, and later the brain, shuts down first. Then the major organs. This results in death." Jenner sounded emotionless as he said it, but there was something about the way he looked at the screen that told me he was anything but. He looked like he'd rather be someplace else than right here, watching the screen. I wondered if the person on the screen was someone he knew, but decided not to ask him. I wouldn't want to be rude.

After a while the inside of the head on the screen turned dark, the person having breathed his or her last breath. I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling just a bit uncomfortable watching this. I unconsciously moved a step closer to Daryl, my arm now just a few inches away from his. The air between our skin seemed to be sparkling with electricity and for a moment it was hard to concentrate on what Jenner was saying. Soon I found out what he'd been telling us though, how long it took this patient to turn into a walker.

Suddenly there were red lights starting on the lower side of the brain, the brain stem. The red lights seemed to slowly multiply, blinking on and off. It was a strange sight and I couldn't help but feel just a bit fascinated by it.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori asked, not sounding very sure about what 'it' was.

"No," Jenner said resolutely. "Just the brain stem. It gets them up and moving, but the human part is gone, that doesn't come back. The body is just a shell now, it has no mind of it's own."

Suddenly a flash showed on the screen and there was a clear path visible in the brain. A bullet, I thought instantly, knowing how something like that traveled through the body.

"God, what was that?" Carol asked, surprised and just a bit horrified. I guessed she had a faint idea of what it was, she just didn't want to believe it.

"He shot his patient in the head. Didn't you?" Andrea asked the doctor. He didn't answer, instead instructed Vi to power down the main screen and workstations.

"You have no idea what it is do you?" Andrea asked him next, sounding scared and angry at the same time.

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal." Jenner started listing.

"Or the wrath of god?" Jacqui asked skeptically, interrupting the doctor.

"There is that." Jenner said with a shrug.

"Somebody must know something. Somebody somewhere." Andrea said, sounding desperate.

"There are others, right? Other facilities?" Carol asked suddenly, a hint of fear in her voice as well.

Jenner's face changed, he was hesitating. He recovered quickly though, quickly enough to make me wonder if I'd seen it correctly. He didn't answer Carol's question however.

"Dr Jenner," Dale said, asking for the doctor's attention next. "I know this has all been very taxing on you, and I hate to ask one more question, but this clock-" He nodded at the clock on my left, red numbers counting down from one hour. "It's counting down, what happens when it reaches zero?"

The doctor looked at the clock and his eyes widened. "This can't be possible..." he muttered, so soft I wasn't sure if he had meant for anyone else to hear. Then he suddenly turned around and stalked off, leaving us staring after him in surprise.

"How do we find out what happens now?" Sophia asked, her soft voice breaking the heavy silence that had set over everyone as we were trying to figure out what had made him walk away like that.

I wondered about that myself when suddenly I had an idea. "Vi, what happens when the clock hits zero?" I asked out loud, wondering if the computer was smart enough for these kinds of questions, guess it was.

"When the clock hits zero the basement generators run out of fuel."

"And what happens then?" Rick asked but there was no answer. "Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" He tried again. This time Vi answered, guess she wasn't as smart as I'd thought if she needs to be talked to directly. Then again, maybe that was a good thing.

"When the power runs out, facility wide decontamination will occur."

We looked at each other again, confused. What the hell did that mean? We had no idea. One thing was for sure though, whatever was going to happen in an hour, didn't sound good.

* * *

General POV

"What am I supposed to do?" Jenner asked, sounding in desperate need of an answer.

The doctor was holding a picture of a woman in his hands, his eyes were showing the beginning of tears.

"I don't want to go, but I promised you to do everything to save the world. I can't do that without going, can I?"

He seemed to be holding his breath, hoping for an answer from the picture. Objects don't talk however and so he heard nothing. He sighed, putting the picture down and getting up from the chair. He had gone straight to this office, wanting to check the logs on the power, to see how it was possible that the clock had changed it's time this quick.

Of course he knew it was Sarah's doing, but she had told him he would have till three o'clock, it wasn't even noon! She had wanted them out of there though, so maybe she had decided they had to get out of there earlier. She wouldn't back away from chasing them out of there.

Jenner wandered to a window with a view on the work stations. He thought back to what the group had asked him before, all those questions he had an answer for, and those he didn't want to answer. He wondered if he would be able to get those people to follow him, and if he even wanted to. How would he feel about himself if he led them to the camp, full of hope that would only be crushed later on. How would he feel about himself if he took Kaitlinn away from them, from the kids who had already lost their mother when she decided to use them. He already felt bad for not telling Kaitlinn about what she was, or what she would be able to do. The only reason he was able to keep it to himself right now was because he had no idea what she would do if she found out.

He sighed, having no idea what to do now. His wife would've known. She would've been able to assess the situation and make the best decision based on observations. That was the scientific way she used to approach everything in life. Jenner never had been able to do that, he wasn't as good a scientist as his wife was and he never would be. He swallowed, thinking back to his wife and how she had laid there, on the table, dead.

"I guess we didn't have enough time after all." He whispered as he saw the clock strike the 45 minute mark.

He was undecided, but he knew he would have to get to the work stations anyway, to start his last transmission.

* * *

Kaitlinn's POV

The first thing I noticed was the air conditioning that suddenly stopped working. First there was low hum, then there wasn't.

I had been sitting on the couch, holding a picture book that I'd taken from the rec room, and reading it with Kirra and Nico. Daryl was sitting on the ground, loading and reloading his guns again and again. I think he was nervous and that was his way of expressing it. Once in a while he would look up and I'd feel hyper aware of his gaze, having to concentrate on reading the story instead of looking up and meeting his eyes.

The moment the air conditioning stopped we both looked up at the vent and then at each other. Neither one of us knew what was going on and he grabbed the bottle of alcohol that he had put beside him on the floor, and took a big gulp of it. I frowned slightly whenever I saw him drinking from it, thinking back to what had happened last night with a drunk Shane, but didn't say anything. I didn't see him as the type to drink too much, for some reason I thought he was smarter than that, at least I hoped he was.

When I heard the commotion start in the hallway, I decided to go take a look. I left the book behind with Kirra and Nico who started looking through it on their own, loving to see the pictures that had been drawn on seperate pages.

Daryl saw me and got up as well, taking the bottle with him. As I positioned myself in the doorway I saw Jenner making walking through the hallway, wearing his lab coat.

"Why is the air off, and the lights in our room?" Andrea asked. I looked back into my room and noticed the lights were indeed off. Jenner didn't answer.

"What's goin' on, doc? Why is everythin' turned off?" Daryl insisted, not letting him off the hook. He was holding out the bottle of alcohol to let the doctor know he expected an answer. Jenner took the bottle from him when he passed and Daryl shot him a glare.

"Energy use is being prioritized." Jenner simply said this time, taking a gulp from the bottle himself.

"Air isn't a priority? And lights?" Dale asked him, not believing what he had just said.

"It's not up to me. Zone 5 is shutting itself down." Jenner said next.

"What the hell does that mean?" Daryl asked him, but he was already turning the corner. Daryl shared a glance with me and I nodded, calling out to Kirra and Nico to follow me. Together we went after the doctor, everyone else joining us.

"Hey!" Daryl shouted after him when we rounded the corner. "Hey man, I'm talkin' to you!"

He ran up to Jenner's side. "What do you mean it's shuttin' itself down? How can a buildin' do anythin'?" He asked, more confused than angry.

"You'd be surprised." Jenner just said, still not explaining anything.

"Rick?" Lori suddenly asked, looking down the railing. Rick, Shane, Glenn and T-dog had gone looking for the basement before, I guess they just got back. Jenner climbed down the stairs and made his way past Rick, who was asking him what was happening.

"The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark. Right on schedule." Jenner said, entering the room we had been in before, watching how a person changed into a walker on the big screen.

He put the bottle to his mouth and gulped it down, handing it back to Daryl when he had emptied it. Daryl shot him a glare but took the bottle anyway, putting it away beside him on the floor. I guessed he rather received answers than that he complained about the loss of alcohol .

Suddenly alarms started blaring, filling the room with noise that made you want to clamp your ears shut. Kirra actually did and I frowned, trying to comfort her by rubbing her back.

"Thirty minutes to decontamination." The computer's voice said.

"Doc, what's goin' on here damn it!" Daryl said, frustrated. His fists were clenched and I guessed it wouldn't take much for him to snap and hit something, or someone.

"What happens in 28 minutes?" Rick asked next, a lot calmer but the same frustration evident in his eyes.

Jenner took a deep breath, taking place behind a work station. "In the event of a catastrophic power failure. In a terrorist attack for example- Hit's are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out." He explained.

"HIT's?" I asked, not liking the sound of it.

Jenner stopped typing and looked me straight in the eye, as if he was considering something. "High impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosions." He explained. "With a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive, except nuclear."

I felt my blood run cold at this, and suddenly the room felt a lot chillier than before.

"And you never thought of mentioning that before?" I asked him, now the same annoyance and frustration in my voice as there had been in Daryl's.

Jenner shrugged, "It wouldn't have made a difference."

"Hell it would've, we could've been able to get out of here!"

Jenner stood up and stalked towards me with such speed I thought he was going to walk right into me. Daryl positioned himself in between us though, which surprised the doctor. He soon recovered however and glared at me. He didn't say anything though, that was Rick.

"Lori, grab our things. Everybody, get your stuff. We're getting out of here now!"

No one dared to budge, but we were shaken out of our trances by Shane's voice. "Everybody, y'all heard Rick. Get your stuff and let's go! Go now! Go!" He shouted. Everyone turned around and started running towards their rooms, Shane leading them. I pushed Kirra forward and beckoned Zayn to come and take her to safety.

"I'm not coming, sweetie." Said Jacqui when T-Dog tried to pull her along. He stared at her, but was pulled back by Glenn who told him to come already. Dale waited for Andrea but she also wasn't coming. The rest was already gone by now, including the kids.

"But Andrea-" Dale started, she just shook her head. "Get out Dale, save yourself. I just can't do this anymore."

He didn't move though, instead he stood staring at her with a sad look in his eyes.

Now we were with the three that were staying, Dale, Rick, me and Daryl.

"How do we get out?" Rick demanded from the doctor.

"You can't. Everything top side is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed."

"Well open them!" I yelled.

"That's not something I control," he replied soberly. "The computers do. I told you once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that."

"Yes I did, but you know I had thought you meant something different." Rick said with narrowed eyes. Jenner looked away, ashamed I guessed. He should be, he practically sealed our fate.

"Is there another way out?" Daryl asked next.

Jenner looked at him and looked away, not saying anything. They stared at him for some time before deciding they wouldn't get anything out of him and turning around. Rick ran out of the room, towards his family so that he could get his stuff. Daryl seemed like he wanted to wait for me but I gestured for him to go get his things too, I needed to talk to the doctor and I wasn't sure how long that would take. I didn't want Daryl to be stuck here with me if I took too long, that would mean he would die and that was a lot worse than the thought of me dying.

"Why are all of you giving up?" I asked them when Daryl was had reluctantly turned around.

They glanced at each other for a second before Jacqui answered. "It's no use, there's no hope out there."

"And there is in here?" I demanded. "Andrea," I faced her. "Would Amy want you to give up your life so easily? Because I sure as hell don't want you to, and nor does Dale, Lori or Carol." She was staring at me and I saw the conviction in her eyes falter.

"And Jenner, tell me why the hell _you_ are giving up!"

"Because the chances of survival are miniscule." He simply said.

I glared at him, "But they are there. You told me you thought you'd found the cure, shouldn't you be pursuing that? Try everything you can to save this god forsaken world? Jacqui and Andrea, if he was close to a cure would you still want to fucking stay here?"

Jacqui was resolute, she wouldn't budge and I saw it in her. Andrea was now openly hesitating, Jenner looked unsure of himself now too. Dale was still looking at Andrea, begging for her to come with him with his eyes.

"What about the person you lost, the one you told Andrea about, wouldn't he or she want you to keep on fighting as long as you can?" I asked Jenner.

That was enough for him to cast his look down. Andrea was biting her lip and making her way towards Dale, who put an arm around her. "Go get your things." I told them softly. "I'll be right there." They nodded and left, running after the rest.

Now it was just me, Jenner and Jacqui. "You can't change my mind." The latter said. "I've seen enough."

I smiled at her sadly, "I know. Me too."

"Then why don't you stay?" She asked, sounding surprised and confused.

"Because I have to think about the kids. Have to get them back to their mom."

A flash of something I didn't recognize in Jenner's eyes caught my attention and I focused back on him. "Jenner, the world needs you to save it. We need that cure."

He seemed to be weighing his options when suddenly resolution filled his eyes. "Let's go." He said then. I smiled. I don't know what had made him decide to come with me anyway, and I didn't care.

"You only have 3 minutes left, you've got to hurry." Jacqui told us, wishing us the best and then sitting down.

"Jacqui," I started and she looked up with a sad and lonely look on her face. "Thanks for everything."

She smiled and nodded. That was the last I saw of her as me and Jenner ran out of there, hoping we would still be on time to get out.

_**Author's Note part 2: Yeah so, as you can see/read Jenner hasn't told them about what he knows about Kaitlinn. I tried to explain why in the chapter, but maybe you still don't quite get it. If that's the case please to tell me and I'll explain when I post my next chapter tomorrow, and I'll try to change this chapter eventually so it'll be clearer. **_

_**That's about all I've got to say, thanks for reading and please review!**_


	24. Chapter 24

_**Author's Note: **_

_**Hey, so here you have chapter 24. Hope you like it. I want to thank Scarlet Nyx for the review once again, I'm glad you're still reading. **_

_**Please everyone, let me know what you think! And let me know how I can make it better. I appreciate every comment!**_

_**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy.**_

Chapter 24

Daryl's POV

_Damnit_, I thought as I strapped my bag over my shoulder. _Kate, where the fuck are you?_

I looked around the room we had been sharing and saw nothing lying around except her bag. I took it with me, hoping she wouldn't go looking for it first when she came after us. I had hated leaving her behind in that room, but I knew she would come after us eventually. Especially if the kids were still with us.

"Y'all we have to get out!" Shane called through the hallway.

The moment I opened the door I saw Zayn standing there, "Where's-?" he started asking but I didn't let him finish, no time.

"She'll be here soon," I told him resolutely, hoping I was right.

"Where are Nico and Kirra?" Lori suddenly asked, running up to Zayn and asking for his attention.

"In their room." He replied. Lori nodded gesturing for Zayn to come with her and leaving me alone again.

"Daryl, come on." Glenn shouted, pointing at a door that led to the staircase we were supposed to go up. I ran towards it, seeing an axe hanging on the wall, for emergencies. Well if this didn't qualify as an emergency, nothing did.

I grabbed it and we headed up the stairs, Shane, me, Glenn and T-Dog up front. We didn't have time to stop and catch our breath, instead we had to hurry. No one wanted to be inside this building the moment it would explode.

T-Dog was the first to burst through the doors, running up to the glass doors of the CDC building.

"Get them doors open!" Glenn yelled.

"I'm trying," He yelled back, "But they won't budge."

Glenn ran up to help T-Dog when suddenly Shane called out my name. Normally I would've ignored him or snapped at him, for whatever reason, but right now that wasn't the best way to react. First we better get out of here.

I looked up and saw him gesturing for me to try and use the axe on the window. He was holding one himself as well and started swinging it, I did the same. The moment the axe hit the window, it bounced right back off the glass. We tried a few more times but weren't getting anywhere, not even a single crack showed.

"Fuck!" I cursed, throwing the useless axe down. Why the hell would they have these things if they didn't even work?

"Daryl, look out!" T-Dog suddenly yelled, holding a chair and swinging it backwards.

I backed up from him, waiting for the sound of broken glass we all wanted to hear, but it didn't come. The chair bounced right back off the glass as well. Shane tried something else by grabbing his shot gun and aiming it, "Get down T-Dog." He said. The moment T-Dog was out of the way he shot. The sound of the bullet being fired echoed through the room but the damn glass still didn't break. What the hell was this building protected from? A tank? Fuck.

"The glass won't break?" Sophia's voice asked. She sounded scared and I looked up to see her standing with her mother, Kirra standing next to her. Seeing Kirra reminded me of Kaitlinn, but when I looked around I still didn't see her, where was she? I started wondering if she might have been convinced to stay as well. _No! She would never._

"Rick, I have something that might help." Carol suddenly said, rummaging through her purse while making her way towards Rick.

"Carol, I don't think a nail file's gonna do it." Shane said, sounding rather annoyed.

"Shut the fuck up." I growled at him, standing close enough to him that no one else could hear me. I might've decided not snapped at him before, but considering we might not get out of here I was now contemplating hitting him to feel just a bit better before dying. Of course what I really was hoping for was that Kate would come up so that I could see her one last time before I died. Ok that sounded corny. I don't do corny, fucking hell what was wrong with me.

Shane caught my eye and distracted me from my thoughts, which was a good thing. I saw his jaw set and that made me smirk. That smirk was quickly wiped off though, as Lori came up to me, asking where Kaitlinn was.

I clenched my jaw, "She'll be up in no time." I told her, not to make her feel better, but to make myself believe it. I looked back to the door where we had come running through. Where the hell was she and what was taking her so damn long?

Suddenly I heard several gasps coming from the people around me and I turned around, seeing Carol holding an egg shaped object in her hand, a grenade I quickly recognized. Right at the moment she got that out, Dale and Andrea came bursting through the door.

"Y'all coming with us anyway?" Shane asked in all seriousness, the only thing that showed he was surprised being his eyes. They nodded and I saw some smiles on people's faces, quickly swept away as they remembered where they were and what was about to happen. T-Dog and Glenn were grinning though, probably at the absurdity of Carol having a grenade in her purse that might just get us the hell out of here.

I couldn't grin, considering Kate hadn't come along with Dale and Andrea, which meant she was still inside.

"Where's Kaitlinn?" I asked them, hoping they might have an answer. They shared a glance before Dale answered that she had still been there when they left.

"She told us she would follow soon." Andrea said next.

I cursed, feeling helpless. I wanted to go down there again, to get her, but I couldn't. I didn't know how she was going to get up here, if she was going to use the staircase or rather the elevator. I didn't want to miss her by taking one of the two and being wrong. Waiting for her was driving me crazy though.

"Come on princess," I muttered, turning around again to see what was going on with the grenade.

Rick went over to the window and put the grenade next to it. He seemed to hesitate a second before pulling the pin and most of us used that time to get back. I saw Lori pushing the kids back behind the staircase and I followed suit.

"Look out!" Rick suddenly yelled and those still at the front ran backwards quickly. I was making myself small behind the staircase, facing the other way, when I suddenly noticed someone running out from behind the corner, Kate.

"Get down!" I yelled but my voice couldn't be heard over the blast. I saw her being knocked backwards, onto the ground, and felt my eyes widen. The moment I was able to get up I went over to her, forgetting all about the grenade and not even wondering if it had worked. The only thing I cared about right now was her.

Someone else came running over to her as well, Jenner.

"What the hell are you doin' here? I thought you were stayin'!?" I asked, confused as shit.

"Let's just say she convinced me to come after all." He said, his mouth in a straight line as he looked down at Kate. "Kaitlinn, are you ok?" He asked.

Fuck man, I was supposed to ask that. A moan coming from Kate's mouth distracted me from glaring at Jenner though.

She opened her eyes and tried to sit up, "Stay down Kate," I told her, worried.

"But what about the explosion?" She asked softly. Fuck, forgot about that.

"You pick her up." Jenner told me, probably thinking it wouldn't be smart to pick her up himself when I was near, he was right. I nodded, doing it bridal style. As I turned around I saw that there was no one else around anymore, they'd all made their way out, at least I thought they had.

"Where are the kids?" Kaitlinn whispered. I could barely hear her, the explosion still ringing in my ears. I looked down at her as I hurried to the doors, quickly looking back where I was running to. I couldn't afford tripping right now, that would be disastrous.

"They're outside. They're fine." I told her softly, hoping I was right. Where else could they be? No one was inside, I was sure about that. At least I thought I was sure.

The moment we were outside and I smelled fresh air I started running faster, having to avoid several walkers that had woken up at the sound of the grenade exploding. Jenner was only a feet behind me, doing the same. We were out now, which didn't necessarily mean we were safe, but we were out. At least we wouldn't be inside when the building would explode.

As we were almost at the RV, having been able to avoid running into any walkers, Rick yelled for us to get down. I didn't think, just acted on instinct. I held Kate closer to me and kept the back of her head from hitting the ground as I jumped down behind several sand bags. I noticed Jenner getting behind them as well, beside me, but didn't really pay all too much attention to him. Instead I stayed as still as possible, waiting for the explosion and shielding her body with mine so I was sure she wouldn't get hurt.

It was like nothing I'd ever heard or felt before. It was loud and my ears rang at the ear deafening sound that could probably be heard from miles away. I swear that we were actually pushed forward by the blast wave the explosion caused. For a moment the only thing I could hear was my own breathing and my heart pounding in my chest, soon though I heard Kaitlinn's rapid breathing as well and I sat up a bit, letting go of her. I looked back at the building and saw that there was nothing left, instead there was a large sea of flames and black smoke rising from it.

I got up, reaching for Kate so I could help her up. I noticed Jenner stumbling to his feet, looking rather disoriented.

"Get in your car!" Rick suddenly shouted, hanging out of the RV. "We have to get out of here." He gestured to the city behind us and I knew what he meant. Walkers would be coming from everywhere at hearing this sound.

"Where can I-?" Jenner started asking.

"Shane's car." I answered without thinking. Those two fit each other perfectly, both annoying the hell out of me, mostly because of Kate. Plus I hoped that Jenner would annoy the hell out of Shane as well, I'd like that.

"Can you walk?" I asked Kate when I'd pulled her to her feet. She looked up in my eyes and for a moment I got lost in them. I was reminded of reality though at the sound of car doors slamming shut reached my ears. I guessed not everyone had been able to get into their cars yet.

"We have to get to the car." I told her.

The only thing she did in response was frown, "The kids?" She asked.

I sighed, just slightly annoyed, "Rick, are Zayn, Kirra and Nico ok?" I yelled. I wanted to get out of here, be safe again. Well, I wanted Kaitlinn to be safe again. This place, with incoming walkers, wasn't safe.

"Yeah they're here, they're fine." Rick quickly said, slamming the RV door shut behind him.

I looked at her again, my eyebrows raised, and this time she nodded. We started running towards the car together, I stayed close to her, ready to catch her if necessary, but she managed fine. When she was inside the car I got in myself, starting it up. The RV started driving and we all followed, no idea where we were going but right anywhere that was far away from here sounded great. When we were finally driving I let out a sigh of relief, finally safe.

When we were about ten minutes away from the building, or what had been left of the building, I could still see a trail of black smoke above it.

"Did Dale and Andrea make it out ok?" Kaitlinn asked, also noticing the trail of smoke.

I nodded, glancing at her sideways. "Why is it you seem to be the only one who gets hurt durin' these things?" I asked her, only half joking.

She shrugged, "Jacqui got hurt, she died."

_Yeah, great thing to say Daryl_, I thought to myself.

"You know what I mean," I said next, hoping she _did_ get what I was saying.

She smiled slightly this time, but it was still forced. "Because that makes me feel like I'm alive." She suggested but it sounded more like a question.

I looked at her with one eyebrow raised, "Well find another fuckin' way to feel alive. Because I don't like havin' a heart attack every time, thank you very much."

She studied me with a wondrous smile on her face, the sadness in her eyes momentarily gone, "Ok," She said. "I'll try."

Kaitlinn's POV

I still didn't know exactly what happened at the CDC. I mean, one second I'm walking towards the rest with Dr Jenner behind me, the next I'm on the ground with a terrible headache. Where the blast that knocked me down came from? I have no idea. All that I know is that Daryl was there and that he carried me out. I also know that I had felt completely safe in his arms, which was absurd if you thought about the fact that I knew what was going to happen in a few minutes.

When the second explosion hit I _did _understand what was happening, the decontamination. In a fleeting moment I thought about what the city would've thought if the building had exploded a few months ago. There would have probably been mass chaos. The strange thing was that my mind started wandering to what Jenner had said earlier, about those terrorists. If you think about it, isn't it weird that the building will explode when there's a terrorist attack. I mean don't terrorists normally want exactly that to happen?

I chuckled dryly at the thought and saw Daryl shoot me a curious glance from the side. We'd been quiet most of the ride, a comfortable silence. I didn't mind, even though I had to admit I liked to hear his voice.

"What's so funny princess?" He asked me mockingly.

I rolled my eyes, "We only just escaped death and you're already sounding like yourself again." I commented.

He grinned, "Well there is no better way to spend your day than bein' almost blown up," He paused for dramatic effect. "Twice."

I laughed and shook my head, "What was the first explosion anyway?" I asked now that I had the chance, still feeling a dull headache from hitting the ground so hard.

"Carol's grenade." He said casually.

"_Carol's_ grenade?"

"Rick's, but Carol had it in her handbag so technically she was the one that saved the day."

"Wow," I said with a chuckle. "Never thought her to be the type to carry grenades in her purse."

He chuckled, "No, me neither."

I sighed and stretched my arms, resting my head back against the headrest and closing my eyes.

"How'd you get Jenner to come with us?" He asked suddenly.

"I told him he should." I simply answered, still with my eyes closed.

It was silent for a second, then he coughed uncomfortably. I looked up this time, wondering what was going on."I heard you, you know." He said then, sounding slightly ashamed of himself. I frowned at that, not sure what he meant.

"What did you hear?" I asked.

"You and Jenner, talkin' 'bout the cure."

I laughed this time, thinking of Daryl sneaking around and listening in to conversations.

"You mad?" He asked, sounding slightly unsure.

"Normal people don't laugh when they're mad." I said with a slight smirk at his uncertain look.

"So you're not mad?"

I shrugged, "Not really," I told him honestly. If it had been up to me I would have told everyone who wanted to hear about the cure, but because Jenner had asked me not to, I didn't. If Daryl already knew however, I didn't have to keep it from him. "I find the idea of you sneaking around funny, that's all." I said with a grin. "What did you pick up anyway?"

He was the one to shrug this time, "Not much, practically nothin'. Just heard the word cure."

I looked at him and held my laughter back, not wanting to offend him.

"You should train your eavesdropping skills, or you'll never be CIA material."

He looked surprised at that, "CIA material?" He asked.

I chuckled, "My brother and I always liked to watch movies." I explained. "We always used to act like we were in the CIA."

He smiled at that, "Were you any good?"

I grinned proudly, "The best. I was able to listen in to anyone, no one ever noticed a thing."

He chuckled, probably imagining me sneaking around as well. We stayed like that a second, in silence, when he turned to look at me again.

"So what was it about the cure?" He asked.

I smiled slightly, "He said he thought he was close to finding it." There was something in Daryl's eyes I couldn't decipher, but I wasn't about to ask him. "That's what I used to convince him to come with us. He listened." I shrugged again.

"You believe there really is a cure?" He sounded uncertain and I guessed that had been what I saw in his eyes just moments ago, uncertainty.

I thought about his question for a second. Normally I'd say yes without hesitation, and I was inclined to do that now too, but I didn't. I stopped myself, wanting to think things through before coming to a conclusion. I always have to be strong and show that there is hope, I had to do that with my parents, my brother, my family, Sarah, the kids and now the group. Daryl however was someone who I didn't want to give an automated answer, I wanted to give him an honest one instead.

"I do." I then said, thinking of Jenner and how he had come along. I was pretty sure that if there wasn't a cure, or at least as long as he didn't believe there was a cure, he wouldn't have come along with us. "I just don't know how long it will take to find it."


	25. Chapter 25

_**Author's note:**_

_**Hey everyone, so this chapter is kind of a filler, but it also shows Daryl's feelings a bit more so I hope you like it! **_

_**Thanks for the reviews Onyxus, I loved reading all of them! Also thanks for the tips about Daryl. I guess your right about the smirking, when I finish the story I'll start editing every chapter and I'll surely take your advice in mind! It's just that letting him smirk kind of makes him a bit more annoying, so I might still use it...**_

_**Also thanks to Scarlet Nyx for the review! **_

_**So I had like several ideas how to continue after this chapter (several meaning 10 in total) but I chose one now and I really hope you'll enjoy it. I also just realized that, except for some that also died in the series, no one else has died yet. That's pretty unbelievable for a zombie story like this isn't it... Shit. Ah well, I'll have to see what I'll do about that. **_

_**I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for reading, as always.**_

Chapter 25

Daryl's POV

Heading back along the same road we came wasn't very interesting. Not that I would've paid attention to the road if we had gone into another direction, I was too busy with something that _was_ interesting. Kate's sleeping figure to be precise.

She had fallen asleep with her head resting against the window somewhere along the place we'd left Jim behind. I was glad she wasn't awake when we passed, as I remembered how she'd looked when we left him. I really didn't like seeing her like that, her smile was so much better. Actually every other expression was better than how she'd looked then.

I looked over to her, seeing that she had her arms folded across her chest. I thought that smiling while you're sleeping was impossible, but Kaitlinn proved me wrong. Her hair was obstructing the view I had on the rest of her face, which I didn't really like to be honest. On the other hand it might be better, because I was pretty sure that if I was able to see it, I wouldn't be paying attention to the road anymore.

I sighed, glancing back at the road. I wondered what she was dreaming about that she was smiling like this.

_Me_

The thought came so suddenly that it startled me, and I'm not easily startled. It wasn't so much the thought itself, more the fact that I wanted it to be true. I wanted her to be dreaming about me, however strange that was.

I remembered how I'd felt by the fire right after the moment she told me her story, when I gave her the ammo to my gun. How I wanted to protect her from everything that had happened in her life. How I wanted to take away every bad thing that happened in her life away so that I could see her real smile, not just one that she faked for the benefit of others. And she did that often, I could see it in her eyes.

I also thought back to how I'd wanted to kiss her that time in the bathroom, how her hazel eyes were able to enchant me with no more than a glance. No one had ever been able to do that. Yes I've had my fair share of relationships and one night stands, I've had my share of fun. But I never believed in love. I never believed in liking someone and feeling the need to be with them, let alone wanting to protect them. Right now though, I started to doubt my conviction, because maybe it wasn't all bullshit.

I looked over at her and reached up with my hand. Without even thinking about what I was doing I brushed the hair out of her face, so that I could see it. She stirred under my touch, slightly changing her position. For a moment I sat there, frozen, glancing out of the front window a few times so that I wouldn't crash into something with my truck. When she returned to the still position she had been in before I let out a sigh of relief, damn that was close.

I didn't know why I did that, or why I seemed to always do things without thinking around her. This girl did something to me, something no other girl had ever done. I actually found myself _wanting_ to talk to her, instead of feeling the need to. I normally don't mind spending time in silence, people don't always need to be talking or be talked to. With her however it was different. The only reason I wasn't always talking to her, was because I had no idea what to say. I loved hearing her voice though, like I loved making her laugh.

I think I've talked to her more in these past two weeks than I have talked to anyone in the group since Merle and I decided to join. And I was sure that I never waited this long for a first kiss.

_First kiss? What?_

Where the hell did that thought come from? That's something teenagers think when they have a crush, that's not something Daryl Dixon thinks, ever. I didn't push the thought away however, instead I started imagining what might've happened in the bathroom if Kirra hadn't interrupted. I started imagining how her lips would feel against mine, and how I would run my hands through her hair. How her skin would feel under my touch-

Fuck I had to stop. I shook my head to get the damn thoughts out and focused back onto the road, trying to ignore the fact Kaitlinn was still sitting next to me. I was confusing myself with everything that was going through my head right now. _She _was the whole reason I was feeling confused. And the truth is that, even though I don't like feeling confused, right now I didn't mind one bit.

Kaitlinn's POV

I woke up with my head leaning against the window. I hadn't meant to fall asleep so I was pretty surprised I had. I guess I'd been too exhausted to fight it. Well after everything that happened, I guess that wasn't weird.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and when I accidentally touched my cheek I cringed slighty. It hurt more than it had this morning, but I'd just have to get over it. Act like nothing was wrong, I was good at that most of the time.

I lifted my head and looked through the front window, seeing that we were still on the move.

"Daryl," I started, wanting to ask if I'd missed something while asleep.

He looked up with an all too familiar mocking smile, which made my heart skip a beat or two. I guess the blood pumping organ decided that after I finally said it out loud, it would make it all the more clear that I liked this guy.

"Finally awake, huh princess?" He asked, obviously mocking me for falling asleep.

I wanted to stick my tongue out at him, but instead shot him a glare deciding that sticking out my tongue would be too childish. I couldn't help the smile from playing on my lips however. I didn't quite understand why, but I didn't mind him being his annoying self. I actually didn't think of it as annoying anymore, he was just being himself and I liked that. I liked him. There was no denying it anymore. When he carried me outside of the CDC building I'd felt safer than I had in a long time, and I missed the feeling. Or maybe it was just that I missed the feeling of his arms around me, which could also be true.

"Did you want to ask me somethin'?" Daryl suddenly asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I felt myself starting to blush and quickly looked out of the window to hide it. I didn't often blush, well I haven't had much of a chance since the world went to hell, but Daryl always seemed to be able to make me. Damn the guy.

"Where are we driving to?" I asked then, wondering if we might've stopped somewhere along the way and that I'd missed it.

He shrugged, "Don't know, we haven't discussed yet."

I nodded, stretching myself again and letting a yawn escape.

"You rest well?" His voice sounded more gentle than usual so I looked up to see his face. There was nothing unusual about that though, he was staring straight out of the window, trying to hide whatever expression he didn't want me to see. It was strange how I knew he was doing it, but I guessed he just didn't want me to think too much of his gentle tone. I wouldn't.

"I did," I told him with a chuckle. "I love sleeping in the car. Always have."

This made him look up with curious eyes, not trying to hide his expression anymore. "Why?"

I shrugged, "Not sure, I guess it's a certain feeling of safety I always have in the car."

_The same feeling I have with you_, I thought but didn't dare say it out loud. I would have to keep this to myself for now, because facing it scared the hell out of me. I lost so many people already and the thought of losing Daryl already made my insides turn over, but that would be even worse if I let myself start caring. On the other hand, it might already be too late for that.

Anyway, that didn't matter. As long as he didn't care about me I'd be safe, right?

Daryl's POV

Safety. Did she feel safe with me? Now that's something I never heard before. I wasn't someone you feel safe around. Actually I think people felt uncomfortable, or even scared, around me more. Years of having to fend for yourself does that to you, it makes you less 'fun' to hang around with. Getting through life with Merle as your brother makes it slightly worse.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked me suddenly.

I always hated people who asked me that, but for some reason this time I didn't really mind. My thoughts were still with-

"I'm just surprised you feel safe with me, that's all."

-that. _S__hit, I didn't mean to say that out loud_.

She was staring at me now. Of course she was. What the hell is happening to me? I should be in control of myself more. I should think before saying things, especially these kind of things. So why the hell didn't I?

Well that question has an easy answer. Because of her.

Kaitlinn's POV

I was staring, what else could I do? It was as if he had read my mind and found out what I'd been thinking, about feeling safe with him. I had to say something though, I just couldn't think of anything other than a stupid question.

"Why are you surprised?"

Yes, _that _stupid question. Damn my mind for blocking out any other thoughts right now.

"Because I'm normally not someone you feel safe around." He simply said, not looking at me.

"That's bullshit." I said.

He looked up in surprise, "Why?"

"Because you saved me several times already. I think it's safe to say that I'm safer with you than with anyone else in this entire group. You freaking carried me out of the building when everyone else had already left."

"Except for Jenner." He pointed out.

I rolled my eyes, "That guy is probably scared of his own shadow." I joked, "Seriously I can't think of a reason not to feel safe around you."

He eyed me and then sighed, as if he wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to say it.

"What?"

He looked at me and frowned, tapping the steering wheel with his right hand. "My brother and I didn't join this group because it was safer than stayin' alone." He said suddenly. I didn't quite get the subject change but waited patiently for him to continue, knowing he wouldn't start talking about something without a reason. "We joined because we thought that after winnin' their trust, we could take their stuff and run."

The way he said it it sounded like he wasn't proud of it, he seemed to want to get it over with quick. I stared at him for a second, cocking my head to the side and thinking of his words. That was pretty harsh. On the other hand, in times of survival...

"So that would be one of the reasons not to feel safe around me." He continued.

Ah, so that was the reason for the subject change. I laughed, shaking my head. He looked at me in a way that told me he didn't see what was so funny, of course he didn't. "Daryl," I started, choosing my words carefully. "I can't say that what you wanted to do wasn't wrong, but that has nothing to do with me feeling safe around you."

This seemed to surprise him and I smiled. "You brought me back to your camp, even though I had three kids with me that had to be fed as well. You came with me to retrieve my bags, even with me blackmailing you about something that shouldn't even have worked. You searched for me when I was lost in the woods, and you brought Zayn back. And on top of all those things, you carried me out of the CDC building and saved me from death by explosion. Now if I didn't feel safe with you after all that, there would seriously be something wrong with me."

He eyed me again, and then his surprised expression made place for a smirk again. "Well if you put it like that." He said it with a low chuckle. "I think I've saved the princess enough for now."

**I** grinned, "You're never done saving a princess." I told him, the same way Kirra had told me the first time I told her the princess had been saved. "She'll always finds a new way to get back into trouble."

This made him laugh and me smile as I looked back out of the window.

I started thinking about what we should be doing. I wasn't sure exactly how far away we now were from the CDC building, but we couldn't just keep going like this. We were driving without even the slightest idea where we were driving to, that was probably the worst thing to do if you were trying to survive. You always needed a purpose.

Right now we needed to stop and discuss what the hell we were going to do, where we were going to go.

"Has anyone said when we were going to stop and discuss things?" I asked Daryl, thinking that I might've missed things while convincing Jenner to come with us. He shook his head and I frowned. Then suddenly there was a loud sound filling the car, a horn. I quickly realized it was Daryl who'd honked and questioned him with my eyes. He just shrugged,

"You wanted them to stop right?"

I chuckled as the cars in front of us came to a stop. Perfect.

"Let's get this show on the road." I said jokingly while getting out of the car, making sure I had my gun with me in case some walker had heard the sound of Daryl's honk.

Now that I thought about it our way of telling the others something had happened, wasn't the safest, or most efficient, way.

* * *

"Does anyone have any suggestions?" Rick asked around the group.

We'd all gathered in front of the RV, it reminded me of when we had left Jim behind. I wondered what had happened to him, but quickly pushed the thoughts away as all kinds of horrible things entered my mind.

"We could try Fort Benning." Shane offered. "We said we'd go there if the CDC thing wouldn't work out."

"You can't." Jenner said. He was staring at the ground, his thoughts seemingly far away. "The army base got overrun two months after the initial outbreak."

Shane's jaw clenched at the news and I saw a slight smirk on Daryl's face at the fact that the guy had been wrong. It soon disappeared though as he probably realized we had no other ideas going around the group.

"Other suggestions?" Rick asked again. No one answered, everyone was fidgeting, feeling nervous about the fact none of them knew what to say. If both the CDC and the army base had been overrun, what place could be safe enough to go to?

"We could go up to New York." Daryl suddenly suggested. "Kate said it was like a safe haven, right?" He directed the question at me and I frowned.

"I'm not sure-" I started but was interrupted by Jenner.

"It's not." He said. "New York's gone as well."

"_You_ got any ideas then, doc?" Daryl snapped at him, annoyed. Not that it was Jenner's fault there was no safe place, he wasn't the cause of the whole walker thing that was going on, but I understood Daryl's annoyance.

Jenner looked away from Daryl, rather inspecting the trees than answering the question I guessed.

"Is there a place that is not 'gone'?" Andrea asked him softly, looking tired and done. She'd been through so much already, and now when she started believing there might be hope out there after all, just one word from Jenner could crush it.

I'd made her believe there was hope, by talking about the cure. Now that we found there might actually be no place to go to, I felt bad for making her believe again. I sighed, almost missing Jenner's next words.

"There might be." He replied, after hesitating a moment.

It didn't sound all too sure, but it was the best lead we had right now so everyone stared at him with wide eyes.

"Where?" Shane asked the doctor quickly.

Jenner licked his lips nervously and glanced at me a second before continuing. "Jacksonville."

"What's down there?" Andrea asked next, sounding interested and unsure at the same time.

Jenner was fidgeting with his hands nervously and I wondered what he had to be nervous about. Maybe it was the fact that everyone was staring at him, waiting for an answer, I wasn't sure.

"Last I heard it was a refugee camp, one of the few that is still up and running." He said slowly.

"And when did you 'last hear'?" Shane asked suspiciously, not liking the sound of those words.

"Three weeks ago." He answered but I saw he was lying. Now why would he lie about that? The only reason I could think of was that it had been a lot longer than three weeks since he 'last heard'. I didn't say anything though, if that was all we could do I couldn't take away that chance. The fact he was lying about when he last heard didn't mean the camp wasn't still safe, at least I tried to convince myself of that. We needed something to focus on, a good thing, and a camp sounded pretty good to me.

"Then why the hell did you want to die, man?" T-Dog asked him, getting angry. "That's what? 400 miles from here! Jacqui died in there 'cause she thought there was no hope. 'Cause you told us there was no hope! Why the fuck would you lie to us?" T-Dog was shouting now, furious. His fists were clenched and I thought he would jump the doctor, Glenn was trying to calm him down already, but Jenner didn't seem to like being accused like that.

"Because there _is _no hope!" He countered. "That camp doesn't allow anyone new to enter, going there would be useless!" Jenner was also shouting now.

It was quiet for a minute, T-dog having calmed down and everyone else trying to process what Jenner had just said.

There is now way the would actually do that right? Deny us entrance? That would be heartless. Shouldn't refugee camps be there to help people, to help everyone. How could any governmental organization do something like that?

"I don't believe you," Carol said suddenly, almost too soft to be heard. "They can't just deny us, that's inhumane!" She continued, louder this time, speaking my thoughts.

"I think we should try, I mean there's nowhere else we can go, right?" Lori said next.

She was standing beside Carol who was behind Sophia. Carol was nervously playing with her daughter's hair. I didn't blame her for being nervous, scared of what was to come. In a way I was just as scared, only I tried to keep that fact buried somewhere deep inside me, so I wouldn't have to think about it. That was a hell of a lot easier than facing it.

"Lori's right, it's the best chance we have. It'll take some time before we get there though, and we'll have to work together if we want to make it." Shane said, directing the last part at Daryl. He just shot Shane a glare, which I didn't blame him for. Who was talking about working together after doing to Lori what he did? Asshole that he was.

There were several nods around the group at what he said. The only ones who weren't openly agreeing right now were Jenner and Daryl. I knew Daryl wasn't someone to show others he agreed, or disagreed, with things, but I also knew he'd be coming with us.

Jenner was frowning, thinking hard about something. I wondered why he was looking so guilty right now. Maybe because he had mentioned Jacksonville and he was afraid we wouldn't get in, which meant we would have traveled the distance for nothing. He shouldn't be feeling guilty though, he had given us a purpose again. Somewhere to head to, even if it turned out to be nothing later on, we would've at least tried.

"It's decided then," Rick said next. "We head to Jacksonville. Dale, Glenn, can you help with the directions?" Dale and Glenn both nodded and soon they were hovering over a map, figuring out how to get where we needed to be. The others were scattered around, some just sitting and thinking, others catching up on some sleep in the cars.

I had gotten the assignment to read a book that Dale had lying around in the RV and Kirra had found. I didn't mind, I liked that I had something to do that at least felt a bit normal. I started reading, having five kids stare at me with wide eyes, hanging onto any word that left my lips. It was a pretty basic fairytale, but they didn't mind. Of course they didn't, I guessed that every fairytale sounded good at times like these.

"Lord Dragno slowly made his way inside the cave, trying to see in the darkness that surrounded him." I read next, seeing Daryl stalk closer from behind the kids. I hid my smile and continued, "When he saw the dragon he pulled out his sword and pointed it at the red eyed monster. The dragon stared and it almost looked like it was smiling down at the lord. It took a deep breath and then growled-" I was interrupted by an actual growl, coming from none other than Daryl who had scared the shit out of the kids. He was grinning widely when he saw the kids' faces and I was able to hold my laughter in for about a second before I burst out in laughter, together with the kids.

Daryl sat down behind them, a smirk on his face. "Now, princess, what happens next?" He asked me, acting like he was interested in the story. He got a disapproving look from Kirra, which confused him to no end.

He looked at me as if to ask me what he did wrong and I chuckled, not telling him. I thought he looked really funny when he was confused, so I wanted to prolong the moment for now. Kirra turned back to me and frowned, "Come on Kate, finish the story!" She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. I looked back down at the book, about to continue, when suddenly Rick called out to us that we were ready to go.

I sighed, looking at Kirra apologetically. "Sorry Kirra," I said. She started pouting and I sighed, looking at Zayn. He smiled at me and then at his sister, "Don't worry Kir, I'll finish the story for you." He said, taking the book from me. Kirra's pout quickly changed into a grin. She was beaming again, knowing her story would be finished and not caring about who finished it. The rest of the kids were already getting up, Carl and Sophia heading over to Lori and Carol. Zayn, Kirra and Nico went over to the RV. When I saw them getting in I smiled and walked up to Daryl who had been waiting for me.

"Did I just really get glared at by a 9 year old girl?" He asked me as we started heading back to the car.

I chuckled, "What can I say, she doesn't like it when her stories are interrupted."

He chuckled as we climbed into the car, ready to go.

A few minutes later we were on our way to the one place that might actually be safe. The one thing I was worrying about now though, was if we would get there without walking into any situations.


	26. Chapter 26

_**Author's note: So hey everyone, again. This chapter kind of follows the normal series, only Sophia doesn't get lost. Instead it's.. well read and find out. So as you probably know I've been posting a new chapter a day and I've been doing that for about 24 days now. The problem with this is that my summer break ended last week and now I'm busy with school again, which means less time to write. So I am very sorry to say that I will be taking a break of a week from posting online. After that week I hope I'll be able to pick up one chapter a day again, or maybe I'll change my posting days. Not sure yet. Anyways, for now I hope you enjoy this chapter and as always I appreciate every review!**_

Chapter 26

Kaitlinn's POV

"Do you think their mother is still alive?"

Saying that the question surprised me was an understatement.

It's not that Daryl and I hadn't talked during the drive, we had, just not about any all too serious subjects. We had ended up talking about the kids, and how I'd met them. I told him about the car crash and the fact I'd taken care of Sarah and the kids ever since. He'd asked me how I'd known I could trust them, I told him honestly that when I saved them I didn't know if I could trust them, I just did. It wasn't like I could leave them out there for the walkers to get to them, that would've been inhumane.

Until now I'd had answers to every question he asked, at the moment though I didn't know what to say. Sarah had been a strong woman, at least I'd thought she was. Sometimes she'd have a distant look in her eyes, one that I couldn't place, but other than that she'd been a woman who'd been through a lot but could handle it. I guess in a way that was why she surprised me when she suddenly decided to go with those soldiers. I shook the thought out and concentrated on Daryl's question instead.

Did I think she was still alive? The first answer that came to mind was a yes, mostly because that's what I wanted to believe. The truth was however that I didn't know, especially not after hearing about what had happened to the camp in New York.

"I don't know." I said. "I hope so, but I really don't know."

"She's not in New York." He pointed out. I knew he wasn't trying to be mean, but it still was confronting to hear it like that.

I shook my head, "No." I said softly. "No, she's not. But maybe she found some other place to hide." It sounded more like a question than a thought and I pinched the bridge of my nose at the start of a headache. "I just don't know."

He sighed, 'None of us do, huh?' He asked. He was right, no one knew. Everyone had family and friends who could be both alive and dead. Of course the chances of them being dead were higher, but that was the same with Sarah. I don't know what I'd rather have though, knowing she was dead or still having hope that she was alive.

I sighed as well, "No we don't." I admitted. A moment of silence took over before I dared to ask. "What about you? Do you think your brother's alive?" It was a question I'd been meaning to ask him for some time now.

He laughed dryly, 'Probably." He said. "Toughest son of a bitch I have ever met. The question is however, where he is and what the chances are that I'll ever see him again."

I smiled sadly, he was right as usual. 'Maybe your lucky.' I said then.

Yeah, it sounded crazy coming from my mouth I admit. And Daryl looked at me as if he actually thought I _was_ crazy, until we both started laughing at the absurdity of my words.

Lucky? Never.

* * *

Daryl's POV

The next stop we made, after having discussed everything, was at a gas station. I didn't like the fact we were stopping, knowing we had a long way to go still, but we had no real choice. We needed gas or we would never make it to where we were heading. It was far, Glenn had told us it would be about 380 miles, which meant we probably wouldn't get there without problems arising. Call me pessimist, but at least I'm honest.

T-Dog and Glenn siphoned gas from several cars surrounding the place during the stop, while Shane and Rick tried to find out if there was still gas in the pump or not. There wasn't much but with what Glenn and T-Dog could get out of the other cars, we'd get by for now. My truck was still half full and with the extra gas I'd gotten out of a nearby car, I'd be able to get by as well. If I didn't have enough gas anymore, I'd just switch to my motorcycle, which had a full tank. I guess I could've changed vehicles already, but I wasn't sure if Kaitlinn would get onto the motorcycle behind me, and truth was that I enjoyed her company far too much to risk losing it. Ok so maybe that sounds pathetic, but it's the truth.

When we decided to head back up the road I was the one up front, making sure it was clear for the RV to pass.

"Thank you." Kaitlinn suddenly said when we were driving again. I gave her a confused look, having no idea what she was thanking me for right now. She smiled, looking rather regretful."I should thank you for helping me out with what happened in the rec room." She clarified.

I shrugged, clenching my fists as I remembered Shane's fist making contact with Kate's cheek. I swear that I would never think of the guy in another context again, he didn't deserve it. He was forever the guy who hit my girl.

Hold on, _my_ girl!?

"I didn't do much," I said, trying to distract myself from the thoughts running through my head. 'My girl' sounded good, it seriously did, and that was what was so crazy about it.

She eyed me, "You scared him away." She countered, "I'd say that's reason enough to thank you."

I grinned, trying to lighten the mood, "I can be really scary when I want to be." I said. I wasn't so sure she was right though. I think Shane was scared away more by the fact he'd just hit Kaitlinn than anything else. She seemed to think I was to thank for it though, and even though I didn't fully agree with her there was no point in arguing if she believed it.

She laughed, "I bet you are." She joked, then she turned serious again. "But really," She said softly. "Thank you."

I shot her a small smile, "It was my pleasure to save the princess from the dragon." I joked, wanting her to smile instead of look so serious. She rolled her eyes at my reply but there was a smile playing on her lips so I had done my job.

I looked back at the road and cursed, narrowing my eyes as I saw that there had been an accident on the interstate. There was a truck on it's side, several cars stuck around it. I had known we wouldn't get far without problems arising, that's just not how this world works, especially after the walkers appeared.

"Is there a way through?" Kaitlinn asked, stretching her neck to try and see past the cars.

I tried to do the same but soon knew it was futile, there was no clear sight. "I don't know." I answered honestly.

She sighed, "Let's go take a look then."

I nodded, grabbing my crossbow while opening the door and getting out. Dale was getting out of the RV as well, followed by the rest. Shane, T-Dog and Jenner had gotten into the RV when we decided to cut down on the vehicles so they also exited the RV. Zayn and Kirra followed after them. Nico, Carl, Sophia, who had been driving with Rick and Lori, together with Carol, got out of Rick's car.

Eventually all of us were out and discussing what we were gonna be doing next.

"There is a way through if we move a few vehicles." Kaitlinn said, jumping down from the car she'd climbed up on. "Then we can continue driving."

Rick nodded, "We should start moving some vehicles then." He said. "There must be something around here we can use."

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can use." I said, moving to a car of which the back was open. There was a bag in it which I opened up to see if there was anything useful inside.

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start." T-Dog said, starting to move and get the stuff he needed to do just that.

"Maybe some water?" Andrea asked, sounding hopeful.

"Or food?" Glenn continued.

"This is a graveyard." Lori stated, sounding horrified at our ideas. "I don't know how I feel about this." She muttered.

"Come on y'all just look around, gather what you can." Shane said, not paying any attention to her.

I looked up and saw Kate shooting him a glare he was oblivious to. She shook her head and sighed, sharing a glance with me. It was the first time I had seen her be openly hostile towards Shane, even if it was just a glare, it did me good and so I smiled at her slightly. She stopped herself from laughing out loud, knowing why I was smiling, and quickly turned around to follow Carol and Lori, calling out for the kids to follow her.

I decided to go help T-Dog with the fuel, after which I would go look for weapons we could use. There should be at least some around this place. These people knew what was going on, they should've been armed at least.

Kaitlinn's POV

From a distance the cars looked abandoned, from up close you could see the bodies inside of them. The smell that surrounded the bodies was sickening so I did my best to stay away from them as much as possible. I instructed the kids to stay within my sight and not wander too far, I also told them not to open any cars with bodies in them, which wasn't something I wanted them to see.

Zayn and Nico were allowed to go look around on their own, Kirra I kept at my side. She was holding onto my hand as we walked past several cars. I was looking for one with no body inside, so I could safely let Kirra help me search the car. I knew she would want to help, she was just like Zayn in that way.

I spotted several bags but when I checked them I figured out they held nothing important, so soon I decided to go over to Lori and Carol to see if they might've found something already. I called for Zayn and Nico to come with me, wanting to be able to keep an eye on them.

When I arrived at Carol's side I saw that she was holding a red dress in front of her, looking at it with a wondrous smile. I guessed she'd just got it out of the bag that was in front of her and smiled slightly. Lori however didn't look all too happy with it, and Carol noticed.

"Ed never let me wear nice things like this." She said softly.

"Then take it," I told her quickly, wanting the sad look in her eyes to disappear. "We'll be needing clothes soon anyway." Lori shot me the same glance she had given Carol and I sighed, "Lori, they don't need it. I know it's harsh but I would want others to use my stuff if I died."

I really would want them to, considering I would have no use of it anyway. If people could survive from my stuff, let them take it, at least something good came out of dying then. Of course not everyone felt that way, and Lori still didn't seem to feel comfortable with the fact we were taking things that used to belong to the living. She nodded though, turning back to the bag she'd been looking in before.

I noticed Zayn and Nico heading over to the next car and followed them, realizing Carol and Lori hadn't found anything special either. I wasn't sure what I hoped for, it wasn't like we were going to find the solution to our problems anywhere around here, but still.

It was amazing how Nico and Zayn could work together. I used to have a brother and I know that we would never have been able to work together like this, well not in the normal world. I guess the apocalyptic world is different.

Zayn had the car door opened and Nico climbed inside to search it. I smiled sadly at seeing them having to survive like this, but was quickly pulled out of my thoughts as I noticed Kirra pulling my hand. She stood on her toes, looking through car window. She must've seen something or she wouldn't be pulling my hand like this.

"What is it sweetie?" I asked her.

"A cat!" She shouted with a grin spread on her face.

I frowned, taking a step forward so I could see for myself. She was right, there was a cat, just not a live one. It was a stuffed animal, one from Build a Bear Workshop if I was correct. I wasn't an expert in the stuffed animal branch, but those were hard to miss.

I smiled at the sight and tried the door, it was open.

"Can I have, can I have it, can I please have it?" Kirra asked, jumping up and down excitedly. I grabbed the cat from the back seat and examined it. It was in perfect condition, nothing wrong with it. The white fur wasn't even the slightest bit dirty. It was wearing a pink dress and I guessed it had been a little girl's stuffed animal before it was left behind.

"Sure," I said, handing the cat to her with a smile. I tried not to think about what had happened to the girl it used to belong to as I did. Those thoughts wouldn't end up anywhere good.

She grinned and hugged it to her chest.

_**I love you**_

Her eyes widened as the cat suddenly said it, her grin growing even wider than before.

I chuckled softly, looking back at the RV to see if I could find Rick or Shane working on the cars. Instead I saw Rick running up to Lori and Carol, whispering urgently. I frowned, pulling Kirra closer. She was oblivious to my sudden alarm though, still hugging the cat to her chest with a smile.

I strained to see Dale on top of the RV, but I couldn't. That's when I suddenly saw the walkers. _Shit._

"Get under the car." I said quickly, ushering Kirra forward. "Stay quiet and wait for me, or someone you know, to come and get you, understood?"

Kirra's eyes were wide again, only this time with fear rather than excitement. She got under the car though, without any fuss. She knew when she had to listen to me.

"I'll be back for you sweetie." I whispered, hoping that was enough for her to not be too scared. I knew however it probably wouldn't help. Kirra was nine for god's sake, she shouldn't have to be alone in these kind of situations, she shouldn't even have to deal with these kind of situations. I couldn't leave Zayn and Nico out there though, without even knowing something was going on. I had three kids to think about instead of just one.

I stayed low while making my way past about three cars, keeping my eyes open for the boys. When I spotted them, searching another car, oblivious to what was happening, I sighed in relief. I hurried towards them. Zayn was the first to notice me, holding something in the air which I guessed he had found, a proud expression on his face. When he saw my grave expression though he knew something was up.

"What's wrong?" He asked, serious.

"Get your brother and get under the car. Don't come out from under it until you hear someone you know, ok?"

He nodded quickly, running over to his brother and instructing him to get under a car. He shared one last glance with me before he followed his brother into hiding. I didn't have to tell him to be quiet, but he knew all too well he had to be.

Now how was I going to get back to Kirra without getting spotted by any walkers? I shot a quick glance behind me and saw they were getting closer fast. I cursed softly, ducking and slowly heading back the the red car I'd told her to get under.

I hadn't passed two cars or I was suddenly grabbed from behind. I wanted to fight and turned around so I could push the walker the hell off of me, but it wasn't a walker, it was Daryl. His eyes were fierce and he pulled me behind a truck, gesturing for me to be quiet.

He looked over the hood of the car and then grabbed my hand, pulling me behind him while we were making our way down the highway, hiding behind several cars every few seconds. I saw the red car I knew Kirra was under, now behind me, and bit my lip. When Daryl tried to pull me along again I didn't budge. He turned around, questioning me with his eyes.

_Kirra,_ I mouthed, indicating the red car with my head. Understanding filled his eyes and then he narrowed them again, looking around for some other way to stay hidden. Suddenly he pulled a car door open and pulled out the body, I stared at him. What the fuck was he doing? I wasn't about to ask that question out loud though, and he didn't look up to see my questioning gaze.

He put the body on its back and then gestured for me to lie down. I raised my eyebrows at him. I knew I could trust him though, more than anyone probably, and so did as he told me to. He inclined his head to the side, telling me to move under the car. As I did he followed, putting the body on his right. I wondered why he had put it there but filed the question away for later. As he lay down beside me our arms touched and we locked eyes for a second. Then I turned my head to see if I could see Kirra from here.

I could only see her legs, but that was good enough for now. At least I could see her, which was better than not knowing if she was still under the car or not. I wouldn't be able to get to her though and that frustrated me. I bit my lip as I watched her, hearing the shuffling of feet and the groaning from the walkers getting closer.

Daryl's POV

Fuck she scared me. Not by suddenly appearing in front of me, I could handle that. She scared me with the fact I couldn't find her at first. I'd kept an eye on her before, seeing her walking around with Carol, Lori and the kids. When I noticed the walkers though, which I did when I tried to get into a car that was locked, I looked back and Kaitlinn hadn't been anywhere in sight. The rest were gone as well but I didn't care that much about them, she was my main priority for some reason.

I had had no idea if she was safe or not, and I didn't want to take any chances so I decided to start looking around, trying to find her. I'd decided that if I didn't see her anywhere, I'd go find some place to hide myself and just hope for the best. When I was about to give up though, I suddenly saw her. I wasn't sure what she was doing, but I had gone straight to her without even thinking about it.

Now I was lying next to her, under a car. The sound of shuffling feet, mixed with the sound of gurgling and growling, started coming closer slowly. I'd put a body next to me to be sure there wouldn't be a walker interested enough to look underneath the car. Not that it would help, considering Kate's side was open anyway, but it still made me feel better. I glanced at Kaitlinn's face, seeing a deep frown on it. She was looking at Kirra, who I noticed was two cars away from this one, on our left. She was alone and Kate was probably worried as hell.

Suddenly I saw the feet. Ravaged shoes with rotting flesh inside of them. I narrowed my eyes and concentrated on keeping quiet. My arm was touching Kate's and I heard her slow and controlled breaths mix with mine. I heard my heart thump in my chest loudly and tried to calm it down. It wasn't exactly easy though as more and more feet passed, the gurgling getting louder. Kate still had her eyes trained on the little girl, who, I noticed, had moved backwards a bit. I could now see her holding a stuffed animal which meant Kate could as well.

I wondered where she got it from but I didn't have all too much time to mull over that as another pair of feet passed, just inches from Kate's face. She probably had been focused on Kirra so much she hadn't noticed the feet coming closer. I think that was the reason she backed up a bit more, closer to me. I touched her arm lightly, telling her to stay calm with my eyes as we shared a glance. She nodded slightly, looking back at Kirra again.

When those feet passed it was quiet for a second, the sound of shuffling feet only vaguely present. I noticed one last pair of feet walking along the highway, moving slower than the others had. I saw he would pass the car Kirra was under and I knew Kaitlinn had seen it as well, as she tensed. I narrowed my eyes at the walker getting closer and closer to the red car when suddenly the ear deafening silence was broken by three words.

_**I love you**_


	27. Chapter 27

_**Author's Note: Hello there readers,**_

_**Thanks for being patient with me. I know it took some time to update and I'm afraid I might not be able to update every day from now on. I really am sorry for that, but it's just a lot if I have to combine it with school work and all. I promise I'll update as soon as possible!**_

_**I want to thank Shadowhunter 90, Scarlet Nyx, Mary-MarieXo and Anyalind for the reviews! I promise that within the next 4 chapters they will kiss! That does not mean they'll be all 'lovey dovey' all of a sudden, because let's face it. Daryl's not the kind of guy to do that.. at least not so soon. I hope you like this chapter, and I hope you like the direction I'm going in until now. I know I asked you all if Merle had to be in here or not, I think he will be I'm just not sure when yet. I have to admit that the story is becoming a lot longer than I had initially thought it to be, but I just really like writing it.**_

_**Hope you enjoy reading it!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my own characters and storyline blablabla**_

Chapter 27

Daryl's POV

I froze at the sound of the three words, just like Kaitlinn did. I wasn't sure where the sound had come from, but I could guess. The voice wasn't human, that was for sure. It actually sounded like a stuffed-

_The cat! _I thought. Of course it was.

"No," Kaitlinn whispered, sounding more than horrified. Her eyes were fixed on the little girl as she slowly started moving out from under the car. I stopped her by grabbing her by the arm, not really thinking. It was the instinctive feeling of wanting to protect her. When she snapped her head up though and faced me, I knew I couldn't stop her from getting to the girl. Not only because I was pretty sure she'd hurt me if I didn't let her go right now, but because I wouldn't be able to face the anger she would feel for me afterwards if I stopped her now.

Shane and Rick had tried to stop her last time and she hadn't been mad at them, I admit, but that was different. Right then we hadn't been sure Zayn was alive, now Kirra was, and I knew Kate wouldn't let anything happen to her if she could prevent it.

I nodded at her once, telling her I understood and letting her go. She scrambled from under the car and I followed quickly, deciding that if I couldn't protect her by preventing her from running into danger, I'd do it by following her.

The moment we were both out in the open again, a blood curdling scream sounded through the area. Kate froze again at the sound, breaking into a sprint a second later. I ran after her, noticing the walker that had probably been the cause of the scream. I didn't think, instead I grabbed the knife I'd been carrying with me and went straight for the undead guy, his glazed look locking with mine right before I drove the thing into his skull.

I looked up to see if I could find Kate and Kirra. I was just in time to see her disappearing into the the forest that was on the right side of the highway.

"Fuck." I cursed, sprinting back to my truck to grab my crossbow before following her out into the woods.

I had no idea what was hiding between those trees, how many walkers there might be waiting to attack anything that's alive. I knew however that I wouldn't let her go alone, not like I had with Zayn. This time, screw the rest of the group, she was so much more important.

Kaitlinn's POV

I didn't think before following Kirra, I guess that was pretty obvious. If I _had_ thought about what I was doing I wouldn't have just ran into the woods without back up. You can't blame me though, I wasn't really in any position to think. Kirra had run straight for the trees, and I wasn't going to let her go alone.

I called after her, not caring about the walkers that might be attracted by the noise. She didn't seem to hear me though, just kept running. I did my best to keep track of her as we ran away from the interstate, but when she reached the edge of the forest she disappeared from my sight for about seven seconds.

Who could've thought that seven seconds was all it took to turn your life around.

* * *

"Shit," I cursed as I looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of the little girl, however small. I was standing in a clearing, not all too far from the edge of the forest, but all I could see were trees. Kirra was gone.

A sudden sound behind me made me spin around, in the hope it was Kirra who had decided to hide behind a tree. When I saw Daryl however, I couldn't help but feel disappointed. I bit my lip and glanced around once more.

_Where the hell is she? _I thought.

"You know which way she went?" Daryl asked me quietly, walking up to me.

I looked him in the eyes and shook my head, "I lost her." I said softly, my voice breaking. "Fuck Daryl," I continued, louder. "I lost her."

I was about to lose myself too, which I can't say happens often. Daryl saw it and grabbed me by the shoulders, doing his best not to touch my wound. His eyes were earnest as he looked into mine.

"We're gonna find her," He said. "Understood?"

Those fierce blue eyes filled with determination made me actually believe him and I nodded. "We just gotta find a place to start searchin', now where did you last see her?"

I hoped with all my heart that he was right about finding her and took a deep breath to calm myself. Then I gestured a little back, to where I'd seen her enter the forest.

I knew I was no use to Kirra if I started freaking out right now, so instead I did my best to stay calm as I followed Daryl up to the place I'd pointed out.

If Kirra hadn't been missing, I think I would've been able to watch Daryl track forever. He looked so sure of himself as he crouched down and inspected the ground, seeing things that didn't even cross my mind. Of course normally he looked pretty self-confident, but somehow his self-confidence as he tracked was different.

It took him about a second to start walking, following a trail only he could see. I followed him though, trusting his tracking skills completely. If anyone could find her, it would be him, I was sure of it.

* * *

General POV

"Where is Kaitlinn?" Shane asked when Lori, Carol, Rick and the kids returned. He didn't sound particularly worried, he was though, but maybe that had more to do with feeling guilty than anything else. He hadn't meant to hit her, he would never intentionally hurt a woman like that. At least he tried to convince himself of that.

"And Kirra?" Andrea asked next, noticing the little girl was also missing.

"They're gone." Zayn answered. "Kirra got scared and ran into the woods, Kaitlinn and Daryl followed. I think they're looking for my sister." Zayn's calm voice sounded forced and he was holding onto his brother Nico for dear life. Nico looked sad too, holding onto Zayn's hand with all he had. His sister's scream still resounded in his head and he bit his lip at the memory. _Please Kaitlinn, find her_ he thought, the exact same thing that ran through Zayn's mind.

"We have to go out there and look for them." Jenner said suddenly.

He had previously been sitting in the RV, but at the sound of Kaitlinn's name he'd come out to find out what was happening. "We can't leave them to fend for themselves if we don't know how many walkers are in those woods." He continued.

Everyone looked at the doctor like he was crazy. He had been shaking ever since the walkers had left , obviously more frightened than he had been in a long time. And now he wanted to go looking in the woods, that could be infested with walkers for all they knew? Why?

Jenner didn't care what they thought however, he was determined. He might have never experienced walkers first hand like this before, but he couldn't leave the person he was supposed to keep safe out there, right?

His determination didn't help though, Rick was already shaking his head at what Jenner had said, together with Shane.

"Kaitlinn and Daryl can take care of themselves." Rick said, "And I'm sure they'll find Kirra soon and come back."

He focused back on T-Dog, who he'd been bandaging up, instead of looking the others in the eye while lying to them. He wasn't sure at all, he actually had his doubts about all of this. It was slowly getting darker and he wondered if they would be back on time.

"Let's make sure we're ready when they do." Rick continued while finishing up the bandage. He straightened and this time he did look every single one of them in the eye. "We can't do anything other than get ready to leave for when they get back."

"But-" Jenner wanted to protest, thinking of all the things that could happen to the person he was supposed to keep alive. It was no use however, no one was going to listen and by himself he wouldn't even be able to find them. He sighed, getting back into the RV and sitting down by the window, resting his head in his hands. Why did he ever agree to coming with these people? He should've died at the CDC centre, that surely would've been easier.

Shane started handing tasks out to everyone so they could get the cars out of the way and clear a path for them to leave through when the three came back. Lori was one of the few who hadn't gotten a task assigned. She wandered to her husband's side, who was trying to get a car to start.

"What do we do if they're not back by dark?" Lori asked her husband.

Rick stopped with what he was doing and looked at his wife, "I don't know." He said honestly after a moment's hesitation. "Let's just hope they'll be back by then."

Lori looked down at the ground as Rick continued his work.

No one wanted to leave them behind, but the closer they got to evening, the smaller the chance was that they were still alive. Lori knew this, and even if she didn't like it she couldn't do anything other than wait and hope.

She looked up towards the woods and sighed. Jenner was right about one thing, they had no idea what was hiding in those Woods.

* * *

Kaitlinn's POV

_No, _I thought desperately as Daryl looked up, a frown evident on his face.

It had slowly started to get dark, and now there was only just enough light to see each other. Daryl had been doing his best tracking Kirra's movements, but we still hadn't found her. Twice we lost her trail. Once because she ran through a stream, the other time she had suddenly taken off into another direction. The reason for that was unknown and I wasn't sure if I even wanted to know.

When Zayn went missing I had felt horrible, but he was old enough, and smart enough, to get by. Kirra however was four years younger, she had no idea what to do out here on her own! So yeah, I was feeling a thousand times worse now that Kirra was missing. I was freaking out from the inside, though I did my best not to show that. I didn't want Daryl to get distracted in any way, which meant I was silent and I was keeping on a brave face.

Daryl sighed, straightening up from his crouch and turning around to face me. "We gotta head back, Kate." He said, his face showing he liked it as much as I did. "Her trail went cold again, and in the dark I can't trace it back."

I looked at him and knew he was telling the truth. I bit my lip, shaking my head slightly as tears formed in my eyes. I didn't cry a lot, actually I never cried, right now though I was desperate, I didn't want to lose little Kirra.

"Fuck Kaitlinn." Daryl said, looking tormented. He took a step forward and pulled me in for an awkward hug to try and console me. If I hadn't been so upset I would've reveled in feeling his body this close, feeling the warmth radiate from him, I was too busy with not crying now though.

I leaned my head against his shoulder, wanting to cry but knowing that if I did I wouldn't be able to stop, and that would not help Kirra in any way. Daryl rubbed my back but didn't say anything. In a way that was consoling, on the other hand I'd rather have him distract me. I didn't have time to ask for him to do that however, as that was when I heard a twig snap on our right.

Daryl obviously had heard it as well, tensing. Slowly we both raised our heads to see who it was, in the meantime reaching for a weapon.

"Don't." A stern voice warned.

The voice belonged to a guy wearing a cowboy hat. He was wearing dirty farm clothes and his hair was graying, at least I thought it was. I couldn't see much beneath the hat. He looked to be about in his forties. He looked dangerous, in a way, or maybe it was the shotgun he was aiming at us. For once I wasn't sure what I preferred, a living guy with a gun or a dead guy without one.

"Put your hands up," he said with a heavy Southern accent. "If y'all even dare to reach for your weapon, I'll shoot."

Daryl and I shared a glance before putting our hands up, it's not like we had a choice. Neither of us liked it though. Our weapons were tucked away and I was pretty sure we wouldn't be fast enough if we tried to get to them. This guy would surely be faster with pulling the trigger.

The man looked us both over slowly, his eyes narrowing even more. "What are you doing out here?" He asked, sounding wary.

I smiled, wanting to come over as non-threatening. "We're looking for a little girl, her name is Kirra." I explained, trying to sound as calm as possible. I wasn't sure if it was working, but at least he didn't shoot.

The man stared at us a second longer, "A little girl, huh?" He asked then, lowering his gun slightly. We saw this as an opportunity to lower our hands again, not wanting to have to stand like this all the time and thinking we might get a chance to reach for our weapons after all.

"You seen her?" Daryl asked, an uncertain tone in his voice.

I understood why he sounded like that. The guy had taken a few steps forward, to be able to inspect us better I thought. Now though the scar under his eye was clearly visible. He looked a lot less like an old farmer, and a lot more like a dangerous one. His eyes had a strange glint in them, suddenly having appeared when I said we were looking for a little girl.

He shook his head, a scary smile playing on his lips, "No," He simply said. "But it's not safe out here at night. You should come with me and wait till morning comes before y'all look any further."

I didn't like the way he'd said it, as if he was trying to get us to come with him for his own reasons. He looked me over again, this time almost grinning, a creepy grin.

I narrowed my eyes at him, not even having to think about the offer. "No, that's ok." I replied quickly. "I think we'd better get back to our group instead. We'll be safe enough there."

Daryl nodded, eyeing the guy suspiciously. "Thanks for the offer, but we'll be fine." He agreed with me. I noticed his hand slowly moving to his crossbow, as if he was expecting trouble.

"I wasn't asking." The guy answered, raising his gun again to show us he meant it. "Now come with me."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Daryl's POV

Who the hell did this guy think he was? He couldn't just tell us to come with him. I wasn't going to listen to some random guy in the woods, even _if_ that guy had a gun.

Kaitlinn and I had been looking for Kirra for a few hours already, at least I guessed it was a few hours. It's not like I have a watch to keep track of time with, but it had turned dark already so that indicated enough.

I hadn't wanted to tell her I lost the trail again, I really didn't. Not because of my pride, not at all. I just knew that if I said it, it would devastate her. The look on her face when I that we had to get back, it was horrible. I'd acted without thinking as I pulled her in for a hug, wanting nothing more but that look to disappear. It had, but the reason it had wasn't what I wanted it to be.

I looked away from Kaitlinn, who I had glanced at after the guy had suddenly said we were supposed to come with him, and focused back on him. He had his gun still trained on us and something about his appearance made me think he wasn't the farmer after all, like his clothes had indicated before. The scar under his eye looked a lot like something he'd gotten in a knife fight and I didn't trust it, or him. I slowly started reaching for my crossbow, knowing that I needed a weapon and hoping he wouldn't notice.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The man said, aiming the gun at me alone. So far for not noticing. _Shit_.

I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering how fast I could be if I grabbed it now. He had his finger just inches from the trigger, yes, but if I was fast enough I might be able to get him with an arrow if I jumped to the side to avoid-

Suddenly a loud noise echoed through the woods, cutting my thoughts short. A sharp pain went through my left shoulder and the next thing I knew I was on the ground. Fuck, I hadn't seen that coming.

"Daryl!" Kaitlinn shouted, looking worried as she made her way towards me.

"Stop right there." The man said, moving the gun from me and aiming it at her instead.

She froze, turning to face the guy with a murderous glare. "You fucking shot him!" She hissed menacingly.

The guy shrugged, not taking his eyes off of her.

"I warned him." He said, sounding as if he couldn't care less about what he'd just done. He probably couldn't.

Kaitlinn was fuming now and I saw it. I wanted to tell her to calm down, afraid she might get shot as well if she didn't, but as the guy faced me again I had no time to. My shoulder was bleeding heavily, and it hurt like hell, but I could see it was just a flesh wound. It wasn't anything I had to immediately worry about. I pressed my hand against my arm to stop the bleeding as much as possible as the guy got closer and hovered over me.

"I did warn you," he said, looking me over once. I didn't reach for my crossbow this time, knowing that he wouldn't hesitate to shoot again. Instead I narrowed my eyes at him and imagined getting up and hitting him right in the face. I knew however that if I did that, all hell might break loose. Right now he probably thought he'd shot me through my shoulder, which gave me the upper hand. Because if he thought I was too wounded to attack him, he might let his guard down. Right now though I had to stay quiet and act, or I could get shot and not be so lucky.

"Get him up on his feet." The guy instructed Kaitlinn, gesturing for her to hurry. "And if you try something again," he directed at me. "I'll shoot this pretty little thing instead of you," He indicated Kaitlinn with his head and I balled my fists. "Understood?"

I ground my teeth together, realizing I might not have the upper hand after all. This guy probably had guessed that I wouldn't dare to attack him if Kaitlinn could get hurt, and he had guessed right. He was waiting for an answer and so I nodded curtly, letting a low growl escape my lips to show him I didn't like it at all. He grinned at the sound, fuck him.

Kaitlinn arrived at my side quickly, worry still evident on her face. She examined the wound, as well as she could with my hand pressed against it, her eyebrows forming a frown. Then she did something I never expected to see a woman do in real life, or anyone for that matter, she ripped a part off her blouse and pressed it to my shoulder.

"Keep it pressurized." She told me seriously and I pressed the piece of her blouse against the wound.

I chuckled, "I know what to do princess." I said, trying to lighten the mood and get the grave look off of her face. My words didn't help though, as her frown grew even deeper. I wondered what was going on in her head, but had no time to ask as the guy was getting impatient.

"Hurry up," He said urgently, looking around him. "I don't want to be here when the walkers come."

Kaitlinn looked up at the guy with a glare, though I saw that she didn't want to be here when the walkers came either. The gunshot must've attracted at least some that were in the area and so she got up, helping me to my feet by pulling my other arm.

I acted like I stumbled into her, whispering that she didn't have to worry because it was just a flesh wound. That way she wouldn't worry too much about me, and the guy would still not know what was going on. He indeed didn't seem to have any clue as to what I'd just done, which was a good thing, but Kaitlinn didn't look less worried either.

"Get moving you two!" The man shouted, aiming the gun at us so we would walk. Kaitlinn looked up at him, her jaw clenched and her eyes shooting fire, but started walking anyway. We didn't really have a choice. I couldn't make a move yet because I didn't want to risk Kaitlinn getting shot, and she was worrying too much about me and Kirra to be thinking straight, or so I thought.

Now that the lower part of her blouse had been torn, I could see the skin of her stomach while we were walking. If we had been in any other situation I don't think I would've minded, right now though I'd rather have bled out than have her walk around like this. I didn't trust this guy, and was afraid of what he might try and do to her. Not that I would let him, never, I'd die first before letting him hurt Kaitlinn, but it still bothered me.

The guy stayed behind, keeping the gun trained on us and telling us which direction we had to walk in. It was dark and we both tripped over tree trunks and other things, not being able to see where we were walking.

"Just keep walking." The guy said after a few minutes, noticing the both of us slowing down at the sound of water. We weren't sure where we were, or what was in front of us, and so we were being careful. "We're almost there."

"Where are you taking us?" Kaitlinn asked him with a snide, looking back over her shoulder and almost tripping over a plant. I was able to catch her on time and she sighed in annoyance over the fact she had tripped again.

The guy chuckled darkly, "To a safe place," he said, though the way he said it made me believe otherwise."Not that it matters," He continued. "You'll be thanking me when we get there even if it isn't a safe place."

That surprised us both and we looked at him in confusion.

"Now why would I do that?" Kaitlinn asked with a hiss, sounding just slightly unsure.

"The girl you're looking for," he started, chuckling softly. "She's waiting for you there. Kaitlinn, is it not?"

It was dark and so I could only imagine Kate's eyes widening. I grabbed ahold of her arm in an attempt to comfort her and stop her from doing anything stupid, for example attack the guy.

"What did you do with her?" Kate asked softly, the menacing tone having made place for dread and fear.

"I did nothing," He said, raising his arms in a defensive gesture. "But accidents sometimes happen." He said with a shrug.

I couldn't see Kaitlinn's expression, but I guessed she had turned pale at his words. She froze and I took a hold of her hand instead of her arm, squeezing it. It took her a second to notice what I was doing, but soon she was holding on tightly. That showed me how scared she really was for the little girl.

We walked for what felt like several hours but couldn't have been more than a mere few minutes. That's when I saw light coming through the trees. It took me a second to see where it was coming from, but when I did I frowned. It was an old farmhouse, light shining through the windows. They must have their own power source, I thought, as almost all electricity had stopped after the outbreak.

A few feet away from the house was a barn, lighted by a lantern hanging beside two large green doors. Kaitlinn stopped, staring at the place and I couldn't help but do the same.

"Walk." The guy said, prodding Kaitlinn in the back. Kaitlinn turned around and narrowed her eyes at the guy. She had let go of my hand and had her fists clenched, she was mad alright.

"First I want you to tell me where Kirra is." She hissed.

The guy laughed and shook his head, "You're not the one in charge here, dear." He said. Then his face changed into a scowl. "Now I told you to walk, so-"

He was interrupted by Kaitlinn, who was angrier by the second. "I don't fucking care who's in charge. I just want to know where she is!"

The man narrowed his eyes, obviously not liking to be interrupted. I took a step closer to Kaitlinn, ready to stop the guy from doing anything to her if necessary. He didn't seem to notice though, stepping closer and grabbing ahold of her upper arm. "You listen to me you little-"

He started, right as I was about to pull him off of her. She acted first though, again interrupting him, only this time not with words. She spat right in his face instead.

The guy stared at her for a second, the light from the barn and the house illuminating the spit dripping down his chin. She was a good aim, I noted, not being able to suppress the small smile on my lips. However when the guy narrowed his eyes at her, I knew she had done something she shouldn't have.


	29. Chapter 29

**_Author's Note: So yeah, I divided the last chapter in two parts, which is why I'm adding the 'what happened before' bit now. I hope you enjoyed the last chapter, and that you'll enjoy this one! Please let me know what you think and review! Thanks to everyone who reviewed before!_**

**_Ok so I'm gonna be very mean right now. I told you I'd give you the kiss before chapter 31, and I have to delay it one more chapter (so it'll be in chapter 32) :( I am really sorry but that was the best way it fit into the story 'cause I just suddenly got a whole new idea and... I'M JUST REALLY SORRY. Please stick with me because it is coming, I promise!_**

_**What happened before:**_

_"First I want you to tell me where Kirra is." She hissed._

_The guy laughed and shook his head, "You're not the one in charge here, dear." He said. Then his face changed into a scowl. "Now I told you to walk, so-"_

_He was interrupted by Kaitlinn, who was angrier by the second. "I don't fucking care who's in charge. I just want to know where she is!"_

_The man narrowed his eyes, obviously not liking to be interrupted. I took a step closer to Kaitlinn, ready to stop the guy from doing anything to her if necessary. He didn't seem to notice though, stepping closer and grabbing ahold of her upper arm. "You listen to me you little-"_

_He started, right as I was about to pull him off of her. She acted first though, again interrupting him, only this time not with words. She spat right in his face instead._

_The guy stared at her for a second, the light from the barn and the house illuminating the spit dripping down his chin. She was a good aim, I noted, not being able to suppress the small smile on my lips. However when the guy narrowed his eyes at her, I knew she had done something she shouldn't have._

Chapter 29

My father used to do the same, right before he hit my mother. He'd squint his eyes and grind his teeth together, right before lashing out. I used to see this happen, as I hid away behind the staircase. Merle always sat next to me, an expression on his face I didn't quite understand at the time. A few years later though, I did, as he had the same expression on his face whenever he hit _his_ girlfriends. I thought he enjoyed it at first, but soon I realized he didn't. He was disgusted with himself for doing it, like he had been disgusted with my father for doing it, but still that didn't stop him.

It had stopped me. I did it once, just once, and I never would again. I hit a girl because she said something about my brother that seriously pissed me off. Afterwards though I felt horrible, and I didn't even know the girl well. That's the reason I never would do it again, even if I had anger issues.

This guy resembled my father in a way, and I knew what he wanted to do. I wouldn't let him though, not like I had let my father.

As he prepared to lash out, I stepped in without even having to weigh my options. I grabbed his arm mid-air and pulled it down, being stronger than he was. My wound hurt, but I wasn't going to let this guy hit Kaitlinn. I wouldn't ever let _anyone_ hit her again.

"Now _that_ was a mistake." I hissed at him, clenching my fist and lashing out myself. There was brief contact between my fist and his jaw, but it was soon broken as he fell backwards. I was on top of him in seconds, grabbing the gun and throwing it aside so that he didn't have any weapons on him. I was pretty sure I broke his nose when I hit him again, the crack ringing in my ears, but I didn't care.

I kept hitting him, seeing his face swell up and feeling nothing other than satisfaction. This guy was my father and Shane at the same time. Both daring to hurt the people I loved. I hadn't been able to get to them, so instead I focused on this guy now.

I don't know exactly how long I sat on top of him, letting my anger get the best of me. I also wasn't sure what happened next. One moment my arm on its way to the guy's face once again, the other someone had wrapped his or her arms around my neck, pulling me back a bit and stopping me from hitting him again.

I was about to turn and get the person the hell off of me, when I recognized her scent, and her voice. "That's enough Daryl." Kaitlinn whispered in my ear.

I sat there for a second, breathing heavily and trying to grasp what had just happened. I looked down at the guy and saw his swollen face, blood everywhere. I didn't usually lose my self-control, nor was I calmed down this easily if I did. I guess Kaitlinn was an exception once again, like she always seemed to be.

She took me by the arm, avoiding my wound which was bleeding again. The piece she tore off her blouse was gone, I probably lost it somewhere while letting my anger get the best of me.

"Come on," She said softly as she helped me up on my feet. When I looked at her she shot me a tense looking smile. I first thought it was because of what I'd just done, but as she looked at the guy and didn't seem to feel anything, well I figured it wasn't that. I guessed that all she had on her mind right now was find Kirra.

She picked up the gun that had belonged to the guy and looked at me.

"Let's go find Kirra." She said determined. I saw the fear in her eyes though, and I saw it in the way she slightly trembled while holding the gun out for me to take.

I nodded, declining the gun and instead taking my crossbow from behind my back. She shot me a fleeting smile before checking the gun quickly and then, after sharing a glance with me, she started sneaking towards the house. I followed.

We had no idea what to except inside the house. There might be more people like that guy, or there could be no one. The only thing we did know for sure was that Kirra was around here somewhere, and we _had _to find her. Kaitlinn because she loved the little girl, and I because- Well I didn't want to think of Kate's horrified expression if we didn't find her.

General POV

It was dark out on the highway, the only light coming from inside the RV that still stood in the same place as before. Lori and Carol were sitting with Sophia and Carl, keeping them close. The fact that there was a little girl missing called on their maternal instincts and they didn't want to let the kids out of their sight.

Zayn and Nico were sitting together as well, not talking. They were separated from the rest a little, grieving in their own personal circle. They had no idea what to say to each other, or to the others. Their little sister was missing and the person that was almost like older sister as well. What the hell were they supposed to talk about? About how they were hoping that they would come back alive even though both of them knew the chances of them coming back was smaller than small, especially considering they still weren't here?

Zayn sighed, looking around the group. There was a sad atmosphere hanging over everyone. He knew some of them were already mourning the death of the three members, not expecting them to come back. He himself couldn't afford thinking like that though, they _would_ come back. They had to. His sister couldn't die, she was too young for that and she hadn't done a single thing wrong in her life. She wasn't the one who was supposed to die!

Rick and Shane glanced at one another for the first time that evening. They nodded curtly and both sighed as they pushed themselves off the ground reluctantly.

"What are you doing?" Andrea asked them, immediately on high alert. The two had been sitting in front of the RV for quite a while now, so the fact they were getting up signaled that something was going to happen.

Rick took a deep breath, holding it in for a second before letting it go and rubbing his eyes in the process. "We can't wait any longer." He slowly said. "We have to leave." He didn't dare look at anyone, feeling guilty beyond words.

"We can't!" Carol was the first to protest. "Kate, Daryl and Kirra are still out there!"

"We don't even know if they're still alive." Shane countered, stepping forward and taking over from Rick, who couldn't even look Carol in the eye. "We can't wait for them when we're not even sure _if_ they'll return."

Lori shot Shane a glare, thinking of Zayn and Nico, who could hear them. Then she directed her anger at her husband instead, wanting him to do something.

"They're looking for a little girl for god's sake!" She said. "They probably decided that they couldn't leave her out there by herself and kept on looking! We can't just leave!"

"What do you want us to do then, Lori?" Rick asked, louder than he normally talked. He was frustrated with the fact that his wife didn't seem to understand the situation. Of all people she should be behind his every statement, she wasn't though.

"We've waited for them up until now. We can't stay here and wait all night!"

"Why not?" Lori asked, not getting it.

"Because we still have a group left to protect!" Rick yelled. "There was a whole horde of walkers during the day, what do you suppose could happen at night?"

"Those walkers are gone!" Carol protested.

"But there could be new ones." Shane interrupted before Rick could say anything. "Or they could come back." Everyone was now quiet, looking at Shane and Rick. "Look Lori," Shane started, softer. "We can't wait and put the whole group in danger for three members."

Lori glared at him murderously. "You of all people should wait," she started, her eyes narrowed. "You owe it to Kate."

Shane wasn't fazed though, "I can't." He said. "_We_ can't." He corrected himself.

"I think we should stay as well." Jenner said suddenly. His quiet voice surprised everyone and for a moment Shane and Lori were distracted from the accusing glares they were shooting each other. The doctor had been fidgeting nervously ever since they had decided not to go after Kaitlinn, they had thought it was because of the walkers, it wasn't. Truth was that he was worried about Kaitlinn. He was worried about his project.

"If they're not back by tomorrow we should go look for them." The doctor continued, talking a bit louder and more confident so that everyone was sure to hear.

"Look for them where, Doc?" T-Dog asked him, not liking the idea at all. "We have no idea where they went, we can't go looking for them if we don't know where to look."

Jenner narrowed his eyes, "We have to try." He muttered, thinking of how his mission was already failing. How the hell had he been able to lose her this quick? He was supposed to keep her alive. The problem with that though was that there were a lot more people a lot more capable to do just that. Why the fuck was _he_ the one who had to find her?

"Kaitlinn wouldn't want us to wait if we endangered ourselves while doing it." Another voice said. It was a strong voice, sounding nothing like his age would indicate. Everyone stared at Zayn in surprise as he stood up, looking tormented but sure of himself at the same time. He was doing his best to keep his voice steady, and as everyone looked at him in surprise he knew he was doing a pretty good job at it.

Zayn hadn't talked much to anyone, except the other kids and sometimes Kaitlinn. That was the reason most members of the group were surprised at how grown up the kid sounded, having been through more in his life than he should have. They were instantly listening, wanting to hear what he had to say.

"But-" Jenner tried to protest, not as willing to listen, but he was shut up by glares from everyone else.

"Kaitlinn knows how to survive and _I_ believe she's still alive. _Especially_ with Daryl there." Zayn continued. "I know Rick is right though. There might be more walkers out there. That's why we have to leave." Everyone was astonished by his words. Having no idea what to say. "We can come back later to see if they might have returned."

No one dared to protest. If Zayn, the one who was closest to Kaitlinn and Kirra, told them they had to leave, who were they to protest. They couldn't, it was that simple. Even Jenner saw that he wouldn't be able to get through to these people anymore after they heard this kid speak.

"I say we leave and find a spot where we can defend ourselves to spend the night." Shane said next, taking over from Zayn. "We could go back at around noon, if they're still not here by then, we leave."

It was as simple as that.

"Sounds good to me." Dale said, agreeing with Shane.

Lori and Carol still didn't look happy but nodded anyway, not having a choice. Andrea, T-Dog and Glenn didn't say anything but agreed with the plan silently.

"We'll write something down for them, tell them to wait for us." Rick continued, getting a piece of paper and starting to write. He planted it in sight, on the windshield of Daryl's car so they would surely see it. He hoped it would stay there and that they would wait for them to return.

"Let's go everyone," Shane shouted, gesturing for everyone to hurry. "Get in the RV and the cars. We're leaving."

It took everyone a second to get moving, Rick and Shane watching them gather the stuff they'd found and get in.

"You think they'll come back?" Shane asked his friend and partner as they stood there, watching.

Rick looked at the forest and frowned, "I hope they will," he replied after which he headed over to his own car. "I really do..." he muttered to himself right before getting in.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Kaitlinn's POV

I never thought Daryl could lose it like that, ever. Yeah I knew he could get angry and had a short temper sometimes, but this was something completely different. He had _looked_ completely different. He wasn't the normal controlled Daryl that gets pissed easily, he was more furious than I had ever seen him and his emotions just got the best of him. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't care less about the guy he was attacking.

Maybe it was the fact he had taken Kirra, even though that was something I should be grateful for in a way. Well, if he'd had good intentions that it. It's dangerous in the dark for adults, let alone for a nine year old girl. What the guy had said though, and the careless tone he'd said it in, was enough to tell me he'd had no good intentions whatsoever. So no one can blame me for not being particularly grateful. What could also be a reason that I didn't care about him, was the fact that I had no idea if Kirra was alright or not, which was still freaking me out a bit.

The reason I stopped Daryl though was that seeing him this mad made my heart ache, I didn't want him to feel so much anger because that just wasn't good. So before I even knew it, I had my arms around him and I was pulling him away. It took him less than a second to calm down, which in truth surprised me a little. I knew that whenever I got as furious as he was, which wasn't often, I'd take at least an hour to calm down again. As he looked up at me though, his blue eyes were still showing tiny sparks of anger, mixed with something I did not quite recognize. I might've asked him what was wrong, if there hadn't been more pressing matter, like Kirra.

I was afraid for her, I really was. I felt a thousand times worse than with Zayn and I knew that if we didn't find her soon I might actually break down and start crying. I had no idea what this guy had done to her, or what he had meant with 'accidents sometimes happen', but it didn't sound like anything good. I needed to find her, and quick.

"Let's go find Kirra." I told Daryl, hoping to sound calm and determined, which wasn't what I was feeling at all.

He nodded once, declining the gun I held out to him and taking his crossbow out instead. I guess I should've known he'd rather use that than the gun, I'd prefer the crossbow too. Guns made noise, and if there is something I've learned from this whole apocalyptic thing, it's that noise is never good. Sometimes though, a gun is all you have, and then you feel very fortunate you at least have that, like I felt right now.

I narrowed my eyes slightly, checking the gun in my hand. It was missing one round, the one Daryl got shot with, but other than that I could fire it again if I needed to. I sighed, readying myself while facing the farmhouse.

It was an old two story building, looking like it had been abandoned years ago. The fact there was light inside was the only thing that indicated there were people living inside. The question Daryl and I had to concern ourselves with now, was how _many_ people were inside.

The house had several windows, only the ones on the first floor had curtains however. The ones from the second floor looked like they hadn't been used for years, a thick layer of dirt covering them. I wondered if the person who owned the house had ever considered asking a maid to help around the house, but it was just a fleeting thought. Not that the 'maid' thing would've worked out. If the house itself wouldn't be enough to scare away the poor girl, than the guy who owned it would, at least if that guy was the same one who was on the ground now.

I almost laughed at my thoughts, almost being the key word in that sentence. The fact Kirra was still missing, probably inside the same house I was now criticizing, stopped me.

Daryl started for the door, keeping low so the chance of being seen was smaller. Of course if there was someone inside, there was a high chance they'd already seen, or heard, what had happened before, but you can never be too careful.

He had his crossbow poised, ready to use it if necessary. I followed him, holding my gun close and making sure I'd be ready to shoot as well.

The closer we got to the door, the more nervous I felt. What if she wasn't here? What if that guy had lied? No wait, he knew my name. That wouldn't be possible if he didn't have her right? Plus what reason would he have to lie about something like that?

I tried to feel reassured by those thoughts but it didn't exactly work out. I guess nothing could really reassure me at the moment.

"Do you think the door is open?" I whispered to Daryl, wondering if we could break it down if it wasn't. It looked old enough, dark blue paint peeling off slightly from years of having been exposed to rain and wind and not having been maintained. Daryl glanced up at me and then at the door.

"Let's find out." He muttered, walking closer and reaching for the door knob.

It wasn't like anything from those police series, where they barge in immediately after opening the door. Truth is that the first thing we did was stare. Neither of us had really expected the door to actually be open, I mean who leaves their door unlocked in a world like this? That was like going to the worst slum in the country and leaving your brand new Ferrari unlocked by the road, it was stupid.

When we were past the initial shock of the door being unlocked, we entered quietly. Daryl was on high alert, shooting quick glances around. I examined the room slower, trying to see any places to hide a little girl, or where a little girl would hide herself. If she had escaped from wherever she had been held, she might be hiding somewhere. She always had been good at playing hide and seek.

The interior of the house looked nothing like the outside. It looked quite cozy really. There was an old fireplace with several logs forming a pile of wood. It had recently been lit, as there was still a flame giving the walls a warm glow. A worn out couch faced the fireplace and I could imagine a family huddling together on it, enjoying the warmth and comfort the flames gave off.

The rest of the room looked a lot less inviting, cabinets with a thick layer of dust, a broken mirror on the wall, tattered paintings and spider webs everywhere.

"You take the rooms here, I'll go look upstairs." Daryl instructed me with a hushed voice. I nodded in agreement, not caring who searched where, as long as we found her.

"Be careful." He warned, his eyes serious and his mouth in a straight line. I nodded again, seeing him turn around and disappearing up the stairs that had been right in front of us.

I sighed, taking another quick glance around the living room and noting that Kirra wasn't here. I turned around and faced the second door on my right, which was open. I saw that it led to the kitchen and decided to go through that first. I walked slowly, quietly, my shotgun ready but hoping that I wouldn't have to use it. It wasn't so much that she didn't want to shoot anyone, because she wouldn't back down from that. It was more that if she _had _to use her gun, it meant that there were others in the house, and that meant that there were so many more things that could've happened to little Kirra.

As I entered the kitchen I started feeling for the light switch. It took me a while to find it in the darkness, but eventually when I found it the room was flooded with a fluorescent light that made me squint my eyes. When I finally could focus again I saw that the kitchen was quite clean, to my surprise. It even looked like it had been cleaned recently.

The kitchen counter had been rid of any normal kitchen appliances, I guessed to save power. The fact there was nothing there though made it look as abandoned as the house had looked. It looked sad and I couldn't help but frown at the sight.

The kitchen table, which I made my way past while searching the kitchen, seemed to have been rotting away for some time now. I wouldn't be surprised if it collapsed the moment a fly landed on top of it, that's how bad it looked.

"Kirra?" I asked out loud, breaking the silence that had been splayed over the house like a blanket. I strained to hear an answer, there was none.

I narrowed my eyes and headed over to the kitchen cabinets, checking them for any sign of a girl. Of course I didn't find her there; she wouldn't even fit inside of them.

You know when you lose something, for example your keys, and you start searching everywhere, even in those places that you _know _they're not. Well I was doing the same right now. The cabinets might be small but I just couldn't ignore them. I had to look everywhere.

The only thing I found though was a first aid kit below the sink, just one of the few things in this house that proved there was someone living here.

When I established with all certainty that there really was nothing else here, I headed over to the other door I'd seen while entering. The one right next to the front door. I had thought it to be just a closet door, but right now I hoped I was wrong and that Kirra was in there, unharmed. I was almost afraid to open it, afraid of it really just being a closet. I knew I had to though, if I wanted to know for sure.

Daryl's POV

The house was in a bad shape, no one could deny that. Other than the fact the walls were infested with mold and damp spots, it smelled. What the smell was, or where it came from, I wasn't sure, but it wasn't pleasant.

The stairs that led to the second floor creaked and I cringed at every sound that escaped. Silence was best, especially when you didn't know what was waiting for you; I had learned that much in the past months. I made sure to keep my eyes and ears open so that I would be ready to spring into action if I needed to. When I finally reached the top of the stairs I took in my surroundings quickly, making sure not to miss any detail.

The second floor was even worse than the first floor had been, especially the smell. I didn't have to hold my breath though, I'd gotten used to unpleasant smells that accompanied walkers so this was nothing I couldn't handle.

The hallway the staircase had led to looked like something out of a horror movie. There wasn't much light, just the light that came from downstairs, but I wasn't about to turn the light on up here. If anything would make it obvious that I was in the house, it would be that. The sound of the stairs might've given me away already, I admit, but if it hadn't I had to make sure to stay as silent and invisible as possible.

I noted that there were three doors up here, one on my left, one on my right and one right in front of me. The one right in front of me was already open, showing what looked like a bathtub and a toilet. It was just a guess, but I didn't think Kirra would be in _there_.

I opened the door to my right first, deciding that it didn't really matter which room I'd inspect first. I opened the door slowly and squinted my eyes to try and see in the darkness. It was too dark however and so I started looking for the light switch on the wall, listening carefully for any movement in the room. The light flickered on slowly when I found the switch, and it took my eyes a moment to adjust to the sudden flood of light around me. After a quick glance around though I saw that it wasn't anything special, just a normal bed room. It had a bed, a dresser and two nightstands with lamps on them. I also saw a walk in closet on my left, which was the only place that could actually house a young girl like Kirra.

"Kirra?" I whispered softly, still not entirely sure if I was alone up here or not and so keeping it down in case I wasn't. There was no answer and I dared to call out a bit louder. Still nothing.

I frowned, walking up to the door with my crossbow in hand. As I opened it I was met by nothing other than an empty bedroom closet, _damnit_.

I wiped the sweat off my forehead, feeling like hitting something. I wondered if that guy outside was still alive, and if I might be able to get in a few more punches before we returned to the highway.

I wasn't sure when we were going to head back; even if we found Kirra I think it would be better to stay here. It was dark now, which meant that danger could be lurking everywhere, danger meaning walkers. I think we would do better by staying here till morning and then heading back.

I shook my head to get any trivial, or what at the moment could be seen as 'trivial', thoughts out and focused back on finding the girl, heading over to the other room. God I wanted to find her. It wasn't so much the fact that she was only nine and now missing than it was the fact that Kaitlinn would break down if we didn't. I'd seen how vulnerable she'd been in the woods, right before we were being kept at gunpoint. She'd been on the verge of crying, and my heart had ached at seeing her like that.

I needed to find Kirra, for Kaitlinn.

The moment I opened the door that led to the second room I understood why the house smelled so bad. I had known the guy was screwed up, I had known that the moment I found out he'd found Kirra. The way he'd talked about 'accidents', well let's just say there definitely was something wrong with him. What I hadn't anticipated however, was _how_ screwed up he was.

I felt a nauseous feeling settling in my stomach as I thought about the possibilities of what might've happened to Kaitlinn if he'd actually succeeded in killing me. Kaitlinn might be able to take care of herself, but if that guy had Kirra as an insurance policy, she wouldn't fight…

I swallowed the bile that started to form in the back of my throat and I gritted my teeth as I looked around the room. I was trying my hardest to ignore what was on the bed. It was hard though and eventually my eyes were pulled towards the body, me having no control over it.

It was young woman, though I couldn't guess her age because of the state she was in. I don't know how long she'd been dead, but her body was already decomposing, maggots crawling all over the rotting flesh, so she had to be dead for at least a week. Her arms and legs were both tied to the ends of the bed, indicating that she had been held prisoner.

I have no idea how long I had been staring at the body, or how long I would've kept on staring if I hadn't been suddenly pulled out of my trance by the sound of a gunshot.

My head snapped up and I immediately forgot about the corpse, my thoughts going straight to Kaitlinn. I hurried out of the room quickly and was about to head down the stairs when I suddenly heard a door behind me being thrown shut. I spun around and instinctively reached for my crossbow, which I had put away absentmindedly while staring at the woman on the bed, or so I guessed.

"Who are you?"

The person who said it was an older woman, standing in front of me with a gun raised. This was the second gun of the day that was being aimed at me and truth was that I was getting enough of the stupid weapon. This woman seemed a lot less ready to use it than the man outside had though.

I froze at the sight of her, not sure if I should continue reaching for my crossbow. Again the person with the gun would be faster, but maybe this woman would hesitate too long, I wasn't sure.

She had her auburn hair pulled back in a bun and her face was grave. She was about the same age as the man outside, and I wondered if she might be his wife. Her hands were shaking, and so also the gun, which wasn't all that comforting considering the trigger just needed a little pressure.

I didn't answer her question, instead trying to gauge her reaction as I put my hand closer to my crossbow, just an inch though. Her eyes flicked to my hand and back to my face. She shifted her weight and the gun in her hands, obviously having no idea what to do.

"Where is my husband?" She asked then, her eyes showing a flicker of something I wasn't able to decipher before it disappeared. Guess I was right and she was his wife.

"You mean the guy with the cowboy hat?" I asked her, making sure my voice didn't give away my intentions. Not that I was sure what I intended to do, but it was better to take every precaution than to end up dead.

The woman nodded slowly, uncertainty filling her eyes.

"He's outside." I told her, not sure if I should tell her what had happened or not. Probably not smart. Wives mostly loved their husbands, and finding out that their husband was almost beaten to death wouldn't evoke the best reaction, or at least that was my guess.

Her eyes narrowed and I wasn't sure if she believed me, "And the woman you were with?" She asked suddenly.

How the hell did she know there was someone else with me? I looked her over and narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "I saw through the window you were with two." She explained softly, though there was something in her voice that made me wonder what she was thinking. She almost sounded surprised, which I didn't really get.

"She's downstairs lookin' for a little girl." I answered honestly.

There was no point in lying. Other than the fact the woman didn't look like much of a threat, even with the gun in her hands, she could be testing me. She might already know why we were here, I had no idea.

"Kirra,"

It wasn't more than a whisper, and I could barely hear it, but I recognized it immediately. "You know where she is?" I asked her, taking a step forward. She raised the gun at my movement and seemed to hesitate for a second.

Then she lowered it again and sighed, "She's outside, in the barn. My husband put her there because she wouldn't stop crying. I went to check on her about half an hour ago, while my husband was out in the woods." She explained softly.

I didn't think before turning around and skipping down the stairs, racing outside. I wanted to get to the girl as fast as possible, so there would be a bigger chance of her being unharmed. Of course there were a lot of things that could've happened to her in the time that she was in there, but still.

When I got outside I saw that the doors that led to the barn were already wide open, a soft whimpering coming from inside.


	31. Chapter 31

_**Author's Note: HeyHello, I am sorry for leaving you in suspense for so long about what happened to Kirra. Hope you're not all too mad... So yeah, next chapter will be THE chapter (ok so nothing much happens... just.. well.. a kiss.. 0:) but it's a start, sort of)**_

_**Hope you like this chapter, please let me know! And if you have ideas about what should happen to who, or if you want something particular to happen, just let me know and I'll see what I can do! Thnx for reading!**_

Chapter 31

Kaitlinn's POV

The second door I'd inspected had indeed been a broom closet. The moment I saw the cleaning supplies my heart sank. I still hadn't found Kirra and I was getting more desperate by the second. I decided to make another round through the living room and searched everywhere. When I was sure she wasn't there I started contemplating if I should maybe go upstairs to ask Daryl if he'd found anything. I looked out of the window while thinking about what to do, and that was when it suddenly dawned on me.

_Where would be the best place to hide a person? _I thought. _Anyone, not just a young girl like Kirra. _That answer was easy, somewhere that wasn't in the house obviously, and that would be too dark for them to even try and escape. The barn.

I quickly made my way outside, heading straight to the two heavy looking wooden doors. It took me about a second to notice the padlock and I cursed. How the hell was I going to get inside now? I thought for a second, wondering if I might be able to find a key somewhere inside the house. That would take too long though, I didn't have the time, or the patience, to start looking. I clenched my fists around the gun as I thought, and suddenly I knew exactly what to do.

I aimed the shotgun at the lock, closing one eye so I was sure that I was aiming right, and then pulled the trigger. The sound was ear deafening but there was no time to feel the pain that shot through my head, instead I reached out and pulled the chain off in one movement, quickly opening the doors.

"Kirra?" I asked softly, being careful in case there might be someone, or something, else in the barn. No answer. I narrowed my eyes, trying to see in the dark and holding onto my gun tightly while taking a step forward.

"Kirra?" I asked again, louder this time. "Kirra, sweetie. It's me. Kaitlinn."

The light from the lantern, or the house, didn't reach the inside of the barn, which made it pitch black. I sighed, turning around and taking the lantern from the hook it was on. I would be able to see more if I took it with me into the barn, that was for sure.

"Kirra?"

Still no response. I held onto the lantern tightly, the soft glow lighting the hay that lay on the floor. I held it out in front of me so I would be able to look around, and felt bile form in the back of my mouth. There were bones, hanging from chains on the wall. It looked like a dungeon with bodies that have been tortured.

I looked away from the bones, closing my eyes and focusing only on sound. Maybe I would be able to-

A soft whimpering stopped my thoughts midway, making my eyes fly open and my head snap around to see where it was coming from.

"Kirra?" I asked.

The whimpers started growing louder and my heart stopped right then. It took me a few seconds to recover, but I hurried towards the sound when I did.

"Kirra, is that you?"

"Kate,"

I froze for a moment, spinning around and holding out the lantern so that I would be able to see. She wasn't smiling like she usually was, and her blue eyes looked darker in the light of the lantern, but there was no mistaking, it was Kirra.

"Oh god," I whispered, feeling tears sting my eyes as I quickly made my way to her, falling to my knees and putting the lantern down.

The first thing I did was inspect her, see if she was hurt in any way. When I established for myself that she was fine I let out a sigh of relief. "Oh sweetie, I though I'd lost you." I whispered.

Kirra's lower lip was trembling and soon tears trickled down her cheek as she started crying. "I was so scared." She sobbed, trying to wipe the tears away from her cheek but not being able to keep up. "He locked me up and I couldn't see anything."

She'd been afraid of the dark all her life, Zayn had once told me. She was afraid for the monsters, which now was a justified fear. I could only imagine though how she must've felt, all alone in the dark, not even knowing if we were looking for her or not. I hushed her, pulling her in for a hug and stroking her hair as I let her cry.

"It's ok sweetie," I whispered. "I'm here now and I promise you that that man will never hurt you again."

Daryl's POV

After Kaitlinn had told me about how she'd helped the kids and their mother out of that car wreck, I had wondered how she'd been able to trust them. I knew from personal experience that these days no one could be trusted, no one, so I thought her to be stupid to trust that family so easily.

I had been_ as _stupid though, by trusting Kaitlinn as quick as I had. I hadn't been able to help myself, it was just…well… everything about her that made me able to trust her like I did. And until now there had been nothing to indicate I couldn't continue trusting her.

There was something I did however, that was even more stupid than trusting Kaitlinn. And that was trusting the woman who had a gun aimed at me only a few minutes ago.

The moment I saw the doors to the barn were open, I hurried towards them. It didn't take long to see two figures holding onto each other in the dim light of a lantern, and it wasn't hard to know who those figures were. I felt a half-smile spread my lips, feeling relieved and happy that she had been able to find the little girl unharmed, or alive anyway. I couldn't see if she was hurt or not from here.

Seeing them like this though, had made me forget all about the woman who had followed me outside. I was pulled back to reality the moment she shrieked out her husband's name.

"Hank!"

I spun around at the sound and saw the woman hurrying to her husband's side, falling to the ground and taking his face in her hands.

_Shit,_ I thought. How could I have been so stupid to just walk out and expect the woman to stay upstairs. Of course I hadn't really been thinking, so that probably was why I hadn't thought about that possibility.

I narrowed my eyes at the woman as she whispered a prayer for the man, sobbing softly.

"Oh Hank, what happened to you?" She whispered, holding onto the necklace that was around her neck.

"He attacked us." I said slowly, "I had no choice."

Maybe it would've been better to stay silent and let her be, but that wouldn't have changed anything. It's not like we could leave, not when it was dark and walkers could be everywhere. She would've eventually noticed us still being here, and then she would've snapped like she did now.

A growl mixed with a sob left her throat as she looked up at me, her face illuminated by the light from the house. She was furious, that was for sure.

"_You_ did this to my husband?" She hissed.

I didn't answer, knowing that it wouldn't matter anyway. I couldn't deny it after telling her that 'I had no choice', and even if I hadn't said that she wouldn't have believed me. Repeating what I'd said before wasn't something that would help me either, so I decided to stay silent instead.

She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut, a tear trailing down her cheek. Then she suddenly grabbed the gun, which she had put aside when she had kneeled down next to her husband, and got up.

"You son of a bitch." She yelled, aiming the shotgun straight at me and pulling the trigger before I could react. This was something that I hadn't expected to happen. Like I said, I had been stupid when I had decided to trust her to stay upstairs, and to be harmless.

The moment the _click_ sounded that signaled the gun wasn't loaded she tried again, and again, and again. Until she realized that there were no bullets inside the chamber whatsoever. She stared at the gun for a second, before looking up at me, her eyes wide and fear evident in them.

I was quick to react and reached for my crossbow the moment our eyes locked. She was fast though, throwing the gun away and sprinting back to the house. I cursed, following quickly with my weapon ready to use. The moment I reached the front door I came to a halt, aware of the fact that she knew this place a lot better than I did, which gave her a big advantage.

I slowly entered the living room, scanning it with narrowed eyes, making sure I didn't miss any possible hiding spots. When I didn't see her I started sneaking further into the house, towards the first door on my right, which turned out to be nothing more than a broom closet. I made my way to the kitchen next, moving behind the counter to see if she might be hiding there, again no one.

I felt like I had while looking for Kirra, annoyed with the fact I couldn't find her. Right now however I was also annoyed by the fact that I knew I should've shot her when I had the chance. Like I said before, never trust anyone. Especially not strangers. I went against one of my main principles, and see what happens.

"Goddamnit." I cursed as I realized the woman must've gone upstairs. At least I hope that was the direction she'd gone in, otherwise I might not be able to find her. I had no idea if this place had a back entrance through which she could flee, but I sure as hell hoped not. That could make things so much more complicated.

I soon dismissed my worries though, as I heard a creaking noise when I reached the top of the stairs. It was coming from the right room, the normal bedroom. I took ahold of the door handle and threw the door open in one motion, ignoring the pain in my shoulder, like I had been doing since I got shot. I made sure to keep my eyes open so I wouldn't miss her, but it didn't help, there was no one here.

"What the-" I started, positive that I'd heard the noise coming from here, when suddenly I heard the closet door open.

I spun around, surprised, and saw the woman charging straight at me, a knife in her hand. "You killed him!" She shrieked, slashing the knife in my direction. I was able to avoid the first try, but the second time a large gash appeared on my right arm, the pain searing through it.

"Fuckin' hell-" I cursed, backing away from her and grabbing ahold of my arm. It was bleeding almost as bad as the flesh wound on my shoulder had, and it hurt even worse. I didn't have much time to think about the pain though, as the woman was already ready to strike again. My crossbow had fallen the moment she'd slashed my arm and was now out of reach, which made me curse again. Today really wasn't my day.

She bared her teeth at me, and her eyes were filled with fury. There was no way to reason with her, even if I wanted to. She wouldn't see past the fact that I had supposedly killed her husband. 'Supposedly' being the key word in that sentence because I had been pretty damn sure he had still been alive just now.

She shrieked again as she launched herself at me, the knife sticking out in my direction. I reacted quickly and moved away, making her stumble slightly. I used that stumble to my advantage and grabbed her wrist, the one that was connected to the hand that was holding the knife. I backed her up, pinning her wrist against the wall and started squeezing it until her face contorted in pain. When she finally let go of the knife, the pain getting the better of her, I picked it up.

"Your husband was a piece of shit." I hissed at her, feeling just a bit more in control now that I was the one holding the weapon. "He deserved what he got."

This made the woman's eyes widen in anger and as she used all her strength to push me back, I realized I'd underestimated her again. She surprised me and so this time I was the one to stumble. She saw it as an opportunity to jump me and we both ended up on the floor, her on top of me.

Her eyes grew even wider and suddenly she coughed up blood on my shirt. I hadn't thought before acting, my instincts had taken over. Her eyes were slowly glazing over, the life being sucked out of it by the knife sticking in her lung right now. When her body slumped against me I pushed her off, slowly getting up to my feet.

I looked down at the woman, not sure what I was supposed to be feeling, or thinking for that matter. Right now, I wasn't feeling anything. She was just another one of my kills for survival. The longer I looked at her however, the more the scene morphed. Had she really been a threat? Did I really do the right thing to kill her? Couldn't I have found another way to survive?

My thoughts were interrupted by Kaitlinn who called out my name, hurrying up the stairs.


	32. Chapter 32

_**Author's note: OMG... this is the chapter... I seriously hope I'm not disappointing you with the limited 'action' but I got an idea of how to proceed with it so I'm gonna go with it anyway. Please tell me what you think and review! All are appreciated :)**_

_**So I was busy with chapter 33, when suddenly I had to start all over because it just wasn't working. I am hoping that inspiration will strike tonight and that I'll be able to finish it for tomorrow, if not I am sorry but please be patient with me. **_

_**Hope you enjoy!**_

Chapter 32

Daryl's POV

"Daryl!" Kaitlinn shouted as I heard her hurry up the stairs. She stood in the doorway with a grin on her face, obviously wanting to tell me that she had found Kirra. She probably hadn't noticed me outside earlier I guessed. It took her about a second to notice my grave expression, her eyes being pulled down to the woman's body. Her face instantly changed.

"What happened?" She asked softly, a slight frown on her face.

"She attacked me 'cause she thought her husband was dead." I told her as calm as possible, which was damn calm. I'd had practice enough, acting like I didn't really care about those I hurt, but somehow she saw past my act and noticed I wasn't feeling calm at all. She took a step closer, about to reach out to comfort me when she suddenly gasped, taking my arm in her hands.

"You're bleeding!"

I didn't answer, just shrugged. Even though it was still bleeding I knew it wasn't that bad. The woman was hurt a lot worse. Well she was dead, but that was still worse. I sighed, rubbing my eyes. When I opened them again I saw Kaitlinn holding out my crossbow, which she must've picked up from the floor.

"It's not your fault Daryl." She said as I took it from her. "You did what you had to do."

I searched her eyes, trying to see if she was just saying that to make me feel better, or if she was sincere. There was a comforting smile on her lips, but in her eyes I saw that she really meant it. In a way she was right, the woman had been the one to attack _me, _not the other way around. Still, that didn't make me feel much better.

"Come on." She whispered, inclining her head towards the door. I nodded, going up front. She looked slightly worried about me, and for some reason that did me good.

A lot of people thought I killed for pleasure, or at least without feeling bad about it. The same thought must've gone through everyone at camp when I was talking about Jim or Amy. The whole group had thought I was a cold and heartless son of a bitch, until Kaitlinn came along suddenly. She saw what killing the woman did to me right now, like she had seen it at camp. I guess that fact was part of the reason that I felt better, knowing she knew that I didn't enjoy doing it.

The messed up thing was though, that even my brother thought I killed with pleasure. He used to joke about how I was a stone cold killer. Merle was an asshole, maybe even more than I was. He had his moment of sincerity, sure, and I knew he loved me as his little brother, whatever he said. I missed the ugly bastard.

Right now wasn't exactly the time or place to think about that though, so I decided to focus on Kaitlinn instead. When we got downstairs I saw her heading over to the front door, using the bolts and locks it had to secure us. I let my eyes wander around the room, stopping when I saw a small figure lying on the couch, Kirra. She had her thumb in her mouth and a blanket covered her. It looked like she was sleeping peacefully, but I could be wrong.

"I found her in the barn." Kaitlinn said softly, trying to not wake the little girl. She looked over to her with a relieved smile. "She's fine, not a scratch. She's scared though."

I nodded, looking back at Kaitlinn and inspecting her for any injuries. I had no idea what might've happened to her before she found Kirra. I knew the gunshot had come from when she broke into the bar, I'd seen the broken padlock on the ground earlier, but there might've happened something else.

Her dark hair was a mess, she looked tired and her calm smile was forced, but other than that she was fine. Actually, she looked beautiful. Her shirt was still ripped and so her stomach was still visible, and I wondered what her skin would feel like if I reached out carefully.

"Follow me." She said, beckoning me with her finger.

When she said it my mind went into overdrive, thinking of all possibilities that could happen. When I noticed she was frowning though, all those possibilities disappeared. She had been inspecting me the same way I'd been inspecting her, so I guessed she was thinking of treating my wounds.

I looked down at my arm, completely red with dried and fresh blood. My shirt was the same and I didn't have to look at my shoulder to know that was also red with blood.

I followed her into the kitchen, wondering what she was planning to do about the blood. "Sit down," She said, gesturing towards the chair by the kitchen table. I frowned, taking in the thing that looked like it could collapse any minute now, there was no way I was going to sit on that.

"I think I'll stand." I said, looking back at her. She rolled her eyes but there was a small smile playing on her lips as she gestured for me to come stand in front of the table then. She walked over to the sink and opened the cabinet underneath it, taking out a small case with a red cross on it, a first aid kit.

She came standing in front of me, putting the case on top of the counter behind her and opening it, the smallest of frowns on her face. She studied the contents and took out a cotton ball and a small bottle of alcohol. She was about to pour a bit of alcohol on the ball when she noticed something else inside the case, a small cloth.

I was fascinated by her facial expressions as she thought about what would be better, deciding to take the cloth out instead, probably because it would be easier to clean large areas with it.

"Take your shirt off." she instructed me, pouring a bit of alcohol on the cloth.

I was snapped out of my thoughts and did as asked, holding it in my hand. She looked it over and sighed. "I think I'll have to go look for a clean shirt upstairs when we're done, you can't keep walking around in that thing."

I narrowed my eyes, "That's ok, I'll get it myself." She looked up, surprised. I didn't want to tell her about what I had found upstairs though, the woman chained to the bed, and I definitely didn't want her to see it.

She shrugged when she noticed I wasn't going to elaborate and focused on the gash in my arm instead. She first started dabbing it with the cloth, to clean the wound. It stung and I ground my teeth together. She noticed and smile apologetically, moving faster. When she was done cleaning the gash itself, she cleaned most of the dried blood surrounding it. After she was finished she put the cloth down and took out a bandage instead, starting to bandage me up.

Her eyes followed the movements she was making with her hand but I didn't miss the glances she shot up to my chest. That made me think back to how I'd made her blush at least twice at the CDC, with being shirtless, and I couldn't help but feel just a bit smug.

When she was finished with bandaging me up she took the cloth out again and poured some more alcohol on it, turning to the flesh wound the bullet had caused. I was still gritting my teeth together, fighting the urge to pull away from the stinging. I was glad when she pulled back and started cleaning the rest of the blood, using the alcohol like water. I didn't blame her though, there might not even be water, and if there was we had no idea if it would be clean or not.

"You think they have bottled water somewhere?" Kaitlinn suddenly asked, as if she was able to read minds. I shrugged, not a good idea while she was still cleaning my shoulder.

"They could have but it doesn't have to be."

"But they had to survive on something right?" She asked next, looking up into my eyes.

"They could have been goin' over to a neighbor's house, or some other place, for the things they needed. We can't know. I don't want to go lookin' for somethin' that might not be here though, especially not if there's still a chance there are more people around."

"You really think there are more?"

"There might be."

She nodded, looking down again and finishing up with cleaning. Instead of mulling over what I'd just said, I focused on Kaitlinn. Her hazel eyes now showed worry for me, not fear, just worry. That was good. I had hated seeing fear in them, it was something that made her appear different than she really was. She was strong, I knew she had been the moment I heard her life story. She hadn't been afraid when she ran onto the highway, she hadn't been afraid during the attack on camp and she hadn't been afraid at the CDC. The only thing that seemed to be able to frighten her, were the kids. Now that Kirra was safe again, the fear had disappeared. The need to pull her close and just hold on to her, like I'd felt in the woods, hadn't.

I noticed a small piece of hay in her messy hair and didn't think before reaching up and taking it out, stroking her hair back in the process. She froze, looking at me in complete surprise. I held out the piece of hay with a half-smile and she chuckled, returning to the bandage she was now putting around my shoulder. I threw the piece of hay on the floor, not taking my eyes off of Kaitlinn.

I wanted her to stop. I wanted her to just stop bandaging me up and look at me instead, to reach over and kiss me, to wrap her arms around me and hold on. That's what I wanted, right now more than I had ever wanted it, but the question was did she want the same? And what if she didn't…

Kaitlinn's POV

The moment I finally had finished the bandage around his shoulder, I leaned back a bit to see the result. I wasn't a doctor, but I thought it looked pretty good. Then again, I might be completely wrong.

I smiled at Daryl, wanting to tell him it was all done but the moment I saw him my voice caught in my throat. His blue eyes were smoldering, studying me and rendering me speechless for a second.

I was close to him, as close as I had been last time he was shirtless. It was the same feeling I'd had then, just wanting to lean in a bit and press my lips against his. I wanted to drown in him and let go of everything else. I bit my lip softly, quickly moving back and turning around, before I'd do something I'd regret later.

Something like taking a step closer and putting my hands on his chest.

Something like wrapping my arms around his neck and-

His hand on the small of my back startled me and I spun right back around, feeling a blush slowly rise to my cheeks.

"Thanks." He said softly, standing just a foot away. His voice sounded different from normal, hoarser, but I probably was just imagining things.

"No problem." I choked out, not able to ignore how close he was this time. I knew he didn't often say thank you, to anyone, so it made my heart skip several beats before picking up its pace.

_What is he doing_? I thought to myself. _And why isn't he moving away?_ Not that I minded, not one bit, but it wasn't like him. He was acting different and I had no idea what to do with that fact. He looked me in the eye and then reached up to stroke my cheek softly, making my stomach fill with butterflies. What the hell? What was happening?

I wasn't in any state to think that question over though, as there was just one thought in my mind.

_I want to kiss him_

Then I did something I never thought I'd ever do. The 'something' I'd wanted to avoid doing a few minutes ago. I actually closed the few inches between us and kissed Daryl Dixon right on the lips.

It was a peck, nothing more nothing less. I wanted to deepen it, but the moment our lips touched, and I realized what I was doing, I quickly pulled back.

_Shit,_ I thought as I saw Daryl's surprised look. _Shit, that was stupid._

I turned around so my back was towards him and he wouldn't be able to see my face. Then I grabbed the case with medical supplies, thinking we might be needing it later on. Well I wasn't thinking about that at the moment, it had been a thought that had crossed my mind earlier and now my sub-consciousness reminded me of it. Truth was that right now there were just two thoughts running through my mind. _What did I just do? __and __Can I do it again?_

I turned back, not looking Daryl in the eye and making my way past him pushing the thoughts out. I didn't know exactly what I was planning on doing, or where I was planning to go, because there was nowhere _to _go. I just knew I had to get out of here before I did something stupid again.

He said my name, I heard it, but I didn't respond. What was I supposed to say? 'I'm sorry'? Because I wasn't. The only thing I was sorry about was not deepening the kiss. God I wanted to kiss him so bad.

The second time he called my name I was already on my way towards the living room. Before I could leave the kitchen however, he grabbed me by the arm and spun me around in one swift motion.

I didn't have time to react to what he did because that was when he crushed his lips against mine. It was a furious kiss, as if he was mad that I'd ignored him before. Maybe he was, who knew. What I did know though was that I didn't mind one bit.

I dropped the case the moment our lips had made contact again, too surprised to hold onto it. Now that my arms were free I raised them and put them around his neck absentmindedly, pulling him closer. His low chuckle vibrated through my whole body and I parted my lips slightly to give him the entrance he was seeking. He grabbed my ass and picked me up like that, my legs wrapping around his waist automatically.

Our lips were still locked as he put me on top of the rickety old kitchen table and for a feeble moment I wondered if it would be able to hold my weight. The thought was soon forgotten though as his hand traced the top of my jeans, making me shiver. I never wanted to let go again, and that was the reason I had to stop a whimper from escaping when he pulled back a bit.

"Do I have your attention now?" He asked, breathing heavily. His voice sounded hoarse, like it had sounded when he'd said thank you.

My chest was heaving as I only just realized I needed air to survive. I stared at him and could only nod, not sure if my voice would come out right.

He smiled slightly. "Good."

We stood like that for a minute, my legs still wrapped around his waist and my arms around his neck. Our lips were just inches apart and I could feel his breath on my mouth, making my head reel slightly. We stared at each other until I finally found my voice back.

"What did you need my attention for?"

He narrowed his eyes slightly before chuckling and putting a strand of hair back behind my ear.

"To do this." He whispered next, putting his hand on my chin lightly and leaning in again until our lips touched, softly this time.

Daryl's POV

God she was gorgeous. I thought as I looked at her again. She was staring into my eyes with a fiery expression, which made her look terribly sexy. Her messy hair did the same, making me want to kiss her all over again.

"What did you need my attention for?" She asked, her voice slightly affected by her heavy breaths.

I couldn't help but chuckle, thinking of how I'd done exactly that what I needed her attention for, to get it. I noticed a strand of hair out of place and automatically stroked it back. Then I lightly took a hold of her chin, not caring that I'd kissed her already but just wanting it one more time.

"To do this." I told her then, leaning in and softly pressing my lips against hers. She tasted amazing, even though I couldn't describe what she tasted like. The only thing I knew was that I never wanted to stop this.

I hadn't even been the one to start it, that had been her. Even though she hadn't seemed to have meant to do it, I couldn't help it. She'd had a spell over me since our lips touched, making me want nothing more but her close to me like this. I didn't want to rush it though, not like I usually did. I wanted to feel the electricity between us, the sparks that ignited when she pulled me in closer, the fast beating of my heart and the sound of heavy breaths.

Right now I just wanted to enjoy every last second of this. Which turned out not be long as suddenly the sound of Kirra's voice filled the air and we both froze.

"Kaitlinn?" She asked.

I closed my eyes, stifling a groan. _Why can't things just go right for once?_


	33. Chapter 33

_**Author's Note: Yeah I know I'm mean, and I'm sorry. But I've got a plan so please bear with me and don't hate me for this... Just need to build up some tention. ( I know you have no idea what I'm talking about yet, but you will after reading this chapter.)**_

_**I know it's not the most happy chapter, but I still hope you like it and that you're wondering what will happen next...**_

_**Thanks for the review Shadowhunter 90, I've got an idea for how he'll find out. But I have to see if I can fit it into the story**_

_**I'm sorry but I'm afraid I won't be able to update tomorrow. :( I had so many ideas for the next few chapters and eventually they were all running through my mind and getting mixed up, so now I'm left confused and wondering how to continue... I'll update as soon as possible! **_

_**Let me know what you're thinking! Hope you enjoy**_

Chapter 33

Kaitlinn's POV

I got lost in the kiss. Drowning in the feeling of him pressed against me like I'd wanted. The feeling of his lips molding perfectly against mine. No other kiss had ever felt like this, not even close. For a moment nothing else mattered, my brain was blocking out everything around me, which explained why it took some time to register the sound of my name.

When Kirra's small and scared voice penetrated through the haze of bliss however, I froze, leaning away from Daryl instantly.

"Kate?" Kirra's voice sounded again.

I was breathing heavily and it took me a second to get my arms to move from around Daryl's neck. Our eyes were still locked, neither of us being able to look away.

"Kirra," I said, my voice soft and hoarse. I cleared my throat, closing my eyes and shaking my head so that I could focus. "What's wrong honey?" This time my voice sounded closer to normal, though there was still a hint of breathlessness in it.

I pushed Daryl away carefully, not looking him in the eye because then I might lose myself all over again. As I got off the table Kirra came walking in, tears in the corner of her eyes. That snapped me out of my trance and I quickly walked up to her, kneeling in front of her. "What's wrong?" I asked again.

"I.." She started, glancing between me and Daryl. For a moment I was afraid she could see what had just happened, which wasn't exactly something I wanted her to. I soon noticed though that she was just scared, and needed to reassure herself we were both still here. "I'm scared." She stammered then.

I sighed, cocking my head to the side and smiling comfortingly. "You're safe now sweetie. We're both here and we won't let you out of our sight. Ok?" She nodded quickly, putting her arms out for a hug. I pulled her in for a hug and picked her up, walking towards the living room with her. I put her down on the couch and sat down next to her.

"Promise me that you'll keep me safe." She begged with her eyes when she leaned back, wrapping her arms around herself.

_Shit,_ I thought. _I can't promise her that._ If I learned something about this world is that promises were worth absolutely zip. There was no way I could lie to her? Or could I? Maybe it was better if I did. She needed the reassurance and if I could give it to her…

"We promise." Daryl suddenly said, making me turn around and look up at him in surprise. When I saw his face though I quickly looked back at Kirra, trying to stop the blush from creeping up on me. My thoughts were pulled to what had just happened, what we'd just done and what it meant.

I saw Kirra's eyes change at Daryl's words, the fear making place for comfort and reassurance. Daryl's words had convinced her that she was safe, that nothing would happen to her, and that relaxed her. She sighed in relief and leaned against me, closing her eyes in exhaustion.

Maybe Daryl didn't lie. Maybe it would be better to call it 'giving hope', because that was generally what he just did. Wasn't this what people called a white lie? Wasn't his answer justified by Kirra's reaction? I wasn't sure, but I was, in a way, grateful that Daryl had made the decision for me. I wouldn't have been able to choose in time, which would've made her even more scared than she had been. Right now, Kirra's relaxed state as she fell asleep, was good enough for me. I watched her as she dreamt about something that put a smile to her face.

As I was watching her sleep I noticed Daryl leaving upstairs, and in a fleeting thought I wondered where he was going. Thinking about him though didn't give me much focus, instead it reminded me of when I kissed him, and even more of when he had kissed me back.

Our kiss had felt so natural, our lips melting together. It might sound corny and pathetic, but I was convinced I'd felt sparks of electricity between us. For one moment I'd been able to forget all, only focusing on him and the feeling of him this close to me. Nothing else mattered, not where we were, not what just happened and most of all, not in what world we lived. It had just been him and me, against the world. I had loved it.

I didn't smile at the memory though, instead I frowned. Leaning my head back against the couch and closing my eyes, I started wondering what would've happened if Kirra hadn't interrupted, and those thoughts disturbed me. Not because I didn't want it to happen, I was pretty sure there wasn't much I wanted more than _that, _but it made me feel slightly uneasy.

I couldn't say I was glad Kirra had interrupted, but maybe it was for the better. My heart was already trying to escape from my chest, going thrice as fast as normal, and that was just at thinking back to the damn kiss. I had no knowledge however of what Daryl's reasons were to kiss me. Did he do it because he liked me? Or rather just in the spur of the moment, after having lived so long without female contact? It was frustrating me, and it made me feel uncertain, but most of all it scared the shit out of me, and I didn't like to be scared.

I heard Daryl's footsteps as he came back down the stairs, pausing when he reached the end. I guessed he took a moment to look at us, Kirra and I both with our eyes closed on the couch. I did my best to even my breaths out and to appear like I was sleeping. Call me a coward, because that was exactly what I was thinking of myself. I just wasn't ready to face him yet. What was I supposed to say? How was I supposed to act? I had no idea.

Soon after, I heard him walking back to the kitchen. I didn't open my eyes however, instead I kept them closed until I fell asleep, which took some time considering my thoughts wouldn't leave me alone.

I woke up at the sound of a curse, immediately recognizing Daryl's voice and being reminded of the kiss.

_Damn_, I thought, _if this is gonna haunt me for long, I'm gonna go insane._

I lifted my head, noticing Kirra lying against me. She was still sleeping peacefully, and an involuntary smile played on my lips. I rubbed my eyes to wake up and listened, trying to see if I could still hear Daryl. I did, he was in the kitchen.

I moved slowly, making sure not to wake Kirra as I shifted her body so I could get off the couch. It took me a few minutes but eventually I was able to stretch. My limbs were hurting because of the sitting position I'd fallen asleep in, but I'd had worse. I sighed, walking over to the window first to try and get an indication of what time it was. The sun was beginning to rise and so it must be around morning, which meant we could head back to the highway soon, or so I hoped.

I turned back around, walking up to the kitchen door. I was unusually nervous and had to take a deep breath to calm myself, before entering. I knew however I had to, I couldn't keep on avoiding him, I wish I had done so at the first words he said though.

"Morning Princess," Daryl said the moment he noticed me. His voice was unusually hostile, as if he was talking to someone he hated, as if he were talking to Shane. I felt my throat close at the sound of it, why was he talking like this? Did he regret what happened yesterday? Was he mad at me for kissing him? But why would he be, he was the one who kissed back, right?

I did my best not to show that I noticed his antagonistic behavior, hoping I'd just imagined it but knowing deep inside that I hadn't, and smiled slightly. It was hard to hide the fact my heart hurt, which was the only way I could really describe it. It was as if my chest had been clawed open and someone was throwing acid in the wounds, making me want to curl up into a ball and hide away.

The weird thing was, that last night I'd been convinced he felt the same for me. That he felt the same attraction and spark, but I guess I was wrong. I guess he just acted on instinct, like he always seemed to do.

"What're you doing?" I asked as normally as possible, and I did a damn well job of it if I may say so myself. Considering I was able to keep my voice calm and neutral while I was feeling the complete opposite, I thought myself a master in deceiving right now.

He shrugged, which was the only indication that he'd heard me, as he didn't look up. "Just collected some stuff I thought we might be able to use." He said, picking up a knife and twirling it in his hands. Was he nervous? Because the last time I saw him playing with a weapon, he had seemed to be. On the other hand, who was I to trust my thoughts on how he was feeling after being so wrong about last night.

I walked a little closer to the table, not looking at him but instead inspecting the weapons that were sprawled out. There were two army knives, one of which he was still holding, a handgun, two shotguns and ammo. They all looked recently cleaned and I noticed the first aid kit on the table as well, the bottle of alcohol out, like the cotton balls.

"You didn't sleep?" I asked him, my voice neutral. I wasn't sure how I should be feeling. Should I be mad that he acted like he was, but he wasn't anymore. The hostile tone had left his voice the second time he opened his mouth. He didn't seem normal though, he was acting more distant than normal. Then again, what had I expected? A good morning kiss? Yeah, like that was ever going to happen. Truth was though that even if I hadn't known what to expect, I knew it wasn't this.

"Had better things to do." He simply stated, his voice cold and detached. The fact he didn't sound angry anymore should've made me me feel relieved, but now that he sounded like he wasn't feeling anything, I wanted the angry tone back.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to stop myself from snapping at him, starting to get annoyed by his behavior. I had no right to though, why should I be mad? I had been the one to kiss him, not the other way around. Well, not the first time anyway. The only thing he did was respond to my kiss. And yesterday _I'd _been the one to act like I was asleep because I couldn't face him. So what right did I have to be pissed right now? He seemed to be regretting what happened and, well, I should be fine with that really, see it as a letdown like any other. I couldn't though, like I couldn't stop from feeling angry.

"When are we going to head back?" I asked as coldly as possible. He looked up, slightly surprised by my tone but not fazed. Actually I believe I saw a spark of anger in his eyes when he heard it. Anger? What right did he have to feel angry at me for being cold towards him? He had started it! I was confused, pissed and annoyed at the same time, not a good combination.

"When there's enough light out." He answered.

_Seriously?_ I thought. That's like the most uninformative answer he could've ever given. Of course we would leave if there was enough light, but when the hell was that!?

I narrowed my eyes at him, but he didn't see it as he was focused on the weapons in front of him again. Guess he really didn't want to talk to me. Fine, but I wouldn't let him off _that _easy.

"You think they're still waiting for us?" I asked next, not only to annoy him but also because I really wanted to know. We hadn't been able to send a message, or return, to the group and so I wondered about what they would have done.

He paused with taking the hand gun apart to clean it, though I saw it shining from here and I knew he did it just to look busy. He glanced up, not answering. He didn't have to say anything, the look in his eyes was enough. He didn't know. And the other thing I saw, was that he really wanted me out of here.

I felt hurt, I really did. That hurt however was masked by an anger that made me stalk out of the kitchen fiercely. If he didn't want to talk to me, then fuck him, I didn't want to talk to him either if he acted like this, the asshole factor sky rocketing through the roof.

_Damn the guy_

Daryl's POV

_Fuck,_ I cursed inwardly, watching Kaitlinn leave the kitchen. I'd pissed her off with my attitude and I didn't like that one bit. On the other hand what reason did _she _have to be pissed at me? Other than me acting like an asshole once again? She should be used to that by now. Plus, if I recall correctly, she didn't have that much to be angry about. I on the other hand, had a reason I was angry. Her.

Something happened last night, something that wouldn't leave me alone even if I wanted it to. My mind kept on wandering to the feeling of her lips against mine, making me want more. Not just in the 'sex' sense, but in so many areas. The thoughts had been driving me crazy enough that I just hadn't been able to fall asleep. I wanted to kiss her again, to feel her pulling me closer with her arms around my neck. I wanted to talk to her, to tell her everything about me and to find out everything about her. I wanted so many things, and that was nothing like me.

The Daryl Dixon that couldn't care less about who he was kissing, as long as more would happen, didn't want those things. That guy never just 'kissed' a girl without knowing for sure something more would happen. That guy would get out of bed in the morning before the girl, whoever she might have been, woke up. That's the reason I never took a girl home with me, too much of a bother.

All _those_ girl however, didn't even compare to Kaitlinn in the slightest. I'd kissed her without having a clue of what would happen next. She was different. _My feelings_ for her were different and it had confused me and scared me at the same time, but I had accepted those feelings, thinking of how they would disappear if I kissed her again.

I'd gone upstairs last night, while she was on the couch, talking to Kirra, to change into a new shirt. I was quick to find one, my mind busy with the things that might happen if I got downstairs again. I wondered how I should act, how she would act. I thought about what I would say if I talked to her again, which was _not _what I said this morning.

That was _her _fault however, not mine. Because the moment I decided to try and act different, more like I cared and less like an asshole, she was the one to ruin it. Even though I had no idea what it would bring, and I had no idea how to act, I was willing to try and do something. She however decided she didn't. I guess she regretted the kiss after all, even though I had been damn sure she'd enjoyed it.

Why did I think she didn't enjoy it? Well that was easy. When I got back downstairs again, I saw her on the couch. She had her head leaned back around the couch and I knew that she'd heard me come downstairs. However she didn't look up, nor did she acknowledge me in any other way. She just pretended to be asleep to avoid having to talk to me.

_She_ was the reason I was pissed, now what the hell could be _her_ reason to be pissed?

I growled, throwing the damn gun back on the table and resting my head in my hands. Even if I was pissed I hated remembering how she'd left just now, to see her expression of annoyance and anger. The fact that I hated seeing her like that, annoyed me so much that I had to push myself off the chair before I'd do something in the direction of breaking the table by hitting it hard with my fist.

_Damn Kaitlinn,_ I thought as I walked up to the window in the kitchen, done with those stupid weapons.

_Damn kiss_


	34. Chapter 34

_**Author's Note: So next chapter is up, hope you like it! **_

_**I want to thank those who followed/favorited/are reading my story. Special thanks to Anyalind for the review!**_

_**I know you all have been patient with the start of the 'loving' and I know that I might be testing that patience, but it just didn't feel right to start any sort of relationship right yet. It's getting closer though, and it will be there! **_

_**Enjoy reading, and please let me know what you think of it!**_

Chapter 34

Kaitlinn's POV

Kirra woke up the moment the sun appeared in the sky. She was her normal cheery self again, which didn't really surprise me. Kids had a way of not letting things get to them. I on the other hand didn't and so I was a lot less cheery.

"When are we going back to Zayn and Nico?" Kirra asked with a slight whine. She missed her brothers and I couldn't blame her. It were the two boys she had spend her whole life with, so it was no wonder she didn't like being separated from them.

I forced a smile and directed it at her, not sure what to say. Daryl hadn't come out since we talked and I started wondering if he might've fallen asleep. He _had_ stayed up all night, so he had to be at least a bit tired. "I'll go ask." I told Kirra reluctantly, though she didn't notice.

I got up and walked to the kitchen, not really in the mood to talk to a Daryl who didn't want me around. I didn't have much of a choice though and so I forced myself to walk inside with a smile. I found him staring out of the window. _So far for having fallen asleep, _I thought.

"Kirra asks when we're leaving." I said, leaning against the door post. If I stayed here I could turn around and leave immediately if I decided that that was what I wanted to do.

He didn't look up, instead he ignored me completely. _Fuck him then_, I thought and walked up to the table myself, grabbing a gun and a knife. If he wasn't going to decide, I would.

"What're you doin'?" Daryl asked, turning around with one eyebrow raised.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What do you care?" I spat, but as I found his eyes and we held a staring competition, I couldn't help but give in. He was too damn good at this.

"I'm gonna head back to the highway." I told him, tucking the gun and the knife under my waistband. I was still wearing the same clothes, my shirt torn and my jeans dirty, but I'd had no chance to change.

"And how are you plannin' on doin' that without me?" He asked. Not to ridicule me, or at least I didn't think he was doing that, but just to point out the obvious. Because however much I hated it, he still had a point. I had no idea how we'd gotten here, considering it had been dark yesterday and I'd been fussing over Daryl more than watching where I was going. Without Daryl's tracking skills I'd get nowhere, except maybe get lost.

I threw my hands up in frustration. "Well come the fuck along then!" I growled, turning around and stalking out of the kitchen, leaving him with no choice. Well he had a choice, but I sure as hell hoped he wouldn't choose to leave us out there on our own. He wasn't like that though, and I knew it.

"Come on Kirra," I said as I entered the living room again and found her waiting patiently. "We're leaving."

I didn't check if Daryl had followed me, though I knew that without him we wouldn't get far. I hated relying on people, especially when I was pissed at the person I had to rely on. I cursed silently before taking a quick glance around when I got outside. Everything was exactly the same as it had been yesterday, only now it all  
seemed a lot less like from a horror movie and a lot more like a bad excuse for a house.

Kirra grabbed ahold of my hand when she saw the man on the ground, who miraculously seemed to still be breathing, I guess even walkers had standards as to who they bite.

_What a pity_

I shook the thought out, not wanting to be heartless. Even if this guy was evil to the bone, that didn't mean he deserved to get eaten by a walker. Of course that might be God's punishment for him. Actually, now that I thought about, still being alive in this world was as bad a punishment could get. If this was his 'hell' though, then there was one thing I did not understand. Why were the innocent people, like Kirra or Nico or Zayn, also still here? They hadn't done much in their life, let alone anything to deserve _this_.

I stayed put, watching the guy from where I was standing, not wanting to bring Kirra any closer to him. I felt Daryl come up next to me but didn't say anything.

"You should take Kirra and start headin' towards the sun, I'll take care of this." He said softly. I wasn't sure what to think about what he said, if he said it because he cared, or just out of principle, but I didn't stay to find out. I pulled Kirra along towards the trees, thinking of how killing the guy would be the same as showing him mercy, which I didn't exactly want to do. But leaving him out here for walkers to find… That was just something no human should be able to do, to anyone.

I kept my eyes open as we entered the woods, not wanting to be surprised by any walkers walking around, though I was as wary of humans after what happened yesterday. The sudden sound of a twig snapping made me let go of Kirra, grab my gun and spin around to aim it at where the sound came from all in less than two seconds. My finger hovered above the trigger, ready to move.

Daryl raised his hands in the air and I quickly lowered it again, not commenting on how he shouldn't be coming out of nowhere like that. He furrowed his brow when I didn't, but as I focused back on the sun, he did as well.

Even if we were acting cold towards each other, for reasons neither of us wanted to say out loud, we still had to stay focused.

* * *

Daryl was tracing our tracks, much the same way as he had traced Kirra's. This time though, I wasn't watching him in admiration either. Actually, I was doing my best not to look at him.

I didn't want to be cold towards him, of course I didn't. I didn't want to be annoyed or pissed at him either, but he asked for it this morning and I wasn't going to let him off easy. If I wanted to act neutral towards him though, I'd have to start with not admiring him, or thinking he looked good. Which was so much harder than it sounds.

I sighed as he got up again and he shot me a glare. I guessed he thought I was getting impatient, which was true, just not with him. I was getting impatient with myself. I was getting annoyed with myself as well, I wish it would be easier to be able to just see him as I saw Shane, as an uninteresting annoying asshole. That wasn't working out all too well though.

We'd been walking around for some time now, which could be a reason he thought I was getting impatient with him. Truth was that I didn't really mind. It felt a lot better to walk around than to do nothing anyway.

"We gotta go left." Daryl said with an annoyed edge to his voice as he gestured for us to follow. I took Kirra, who had been quiet since we left the house, by the hand again and we walked on together. I needed to keep my eye her, not wanting to lose her again.

As we walked I watched Daryl, not being able to ignore him. I noticed some blood on his new shirt, which he'd probably gotten when he'd gone upstairs yesterday night. I knew the blood couldn't be from his wounds, considering those were on his arm and shoulder, and I had a good idea where the blood came from.

I couldn't help but wonder how Daryl had felt while killing the guy. He'd beat him up bad yesterday, anger getting the better of him. Would he have felt that same anger when he killed him just now, or rather something else. Regret? Sympathy? Guilt?

"Kate look!" Kirra said suddenly, tugging on my arm and pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked to where she was pointing and felt my eyes widen.

"Kirra, stay here." I instructed the girl, letting go of her hand and instead reaching for the knife I'd gotten off the table earlier.

"Daryl!" I said warningly, making sure to not be too loud. He turned around and as I indicated my head towards where Kirra had pointed, he grabbed his crossbow. I shook my head, stalking forward towards the scene myself instead.

There was an elderly man, in his 70s I guessed, backing away from a walker. I wasn't sure what had happened before all this, but I saw a dead walker already on the ground, a knife sticking out of its skull, so I guessed the man had done that. He seemed to be unarmed now though, searching for a way to escape from the undead creature.

It took the guy just a second to notice me coming up to the walker's back, but when he did he looked up in surprise. There was something else in his eyes though, indignation?

I didn't think too much about it, instead launching myself forward and lodging the knife right into the brain of the live walker. The thing slumped to the ground and I pulled the knife out immediately, cleaning it with what was left of my shirt and feeling just a bit smug of having killed a walker again. I hated the things, so whenever I killed one of them, it gave me a certain proud feeling.

"Kate!" Kirra shouted as she came running up to me, looking rather shaken, but excited. I narrowed my eyes at her and pointed my finger at her as I scolded her for coming here when I'd told her to stay there. She pouted and I couldn't help but smile at her puppy eyes. I looked up at the man and found him staring at us, eyes narrowed.

"Are you ok, sir?" I asked when I realized he was still standing there. He didn't answer, instead inspected us with light grey eyes. They weren't cold, actually they had a soft edge whenever he looked at Kirra, but they were certainly wary.

When he suddenly snapped his head up to something behind me I looked around, seeing Daryl standing just a few feet behind me, looking as wary as the man did.

"Who are you?" The elderly man asked us. "And what are you doing here?"

I looked back at him, _You'd think he could at least say 'thank you for saving me', _I thought.

* * *

General POV

The RV came driving up to the same spot it had been in before, slowly coming to a stop. The cars followed. The moment it came to a halt the doors opened and the first one to get out was Zayn, glancing around quickly to see if he might catch a glimpse of Kaitlinn or his sister. Nico followed, after which everyone else also got out of their vehicles as well.

"They're not here." Lori stated when everyone was out, her voice faltering slightly. Rick put and arm around Lori's waist and pulled her closer to him to try and comfort her. She'd been worrying all night about Kaitlinn and Kirra, even about Daryl, and now her worst fears were coming true.

"They're still a chance they'll come." Rick offered, but it sounded like a lie even in his own ears.

"No there isn't." Zayn said then, seeing right through Rick's composed look. His voice broke as he said it, something he didn't like. He wished he could block out all of the emotions, that would surely make it a lot easier. He couldn't though. He had stayed awake all night last night hoping to see them again today. He hadn't been able to stop from hoping, even though common sense told him they were probably gone.

'Gone' didn't meant dead though. Zayn stuck with what he'd said yesterday, that Kaitlinn and Daryl could both take care of themselves. The reason they weren't back yet, well there were just a few he could think of. One of them was that they were still looking for Kirra, another was that they'd run into trouble. He couldn't make himself think of them as dead though, that was too much for him to handle. He sighed, sitting down on the ground with his head in his hands. Nico sat down beside him, taking his hand to comfort his older brother.

Lori didn't know what to think, or say. She knew that Kaitlinn and Daryl both were good at surviving, but she also knew that emotions could get in the way of trying to stay alive. If they hadn't found Kirra, or if they found her body, Kaitlinn might not be as good at staying alive as she would normally be.

She bit her lip, looking up at her husband and seeing that same thought running through his mind.

"We should go look for them." Jenner said as he finally got out of the RV. He'd stayed in through the whole ordeal, waiting for the cheering and shouting. When he hadn't heard those sounds he knew it was wrong. Living in ignorance was a lot better though, until he couldn't anymore.

"Are you crazy?" T-Dog said. "They're probably dead!"

Andrea hit T-dog on the arm, "Shut up you idiot." She hissed, indicating Zayn and Nico with her head. T-Dog's mouth formed a straight line, but everyone knew that what he'd said had a notion of truth in it.

"I think Jenner's right." Shane said then, out of no where. Everyone looked up in surprise but he didn't dare look them in the eye. Ever since Lori had snapped at him that he owed it to Kate, he'd been feeling guilty. It was true, he owed Kaitlinn. He owed her for not telling everyone what he did, for not openly blaming him. He hadn't been able to agree with going to look for them yesterday, but after a night without sleep he decided that that was the least he could do for her. "We should go looking for them now. It's light and if we go in big groups we should be safe."

He looked up at Rick as he said it, his partner seeing that it was something Shane _had_ to do. Not only that, Rick felt the same way. He had felt guilty for not going looking for them before, when he might have had a bigger chance of finding them. Now that chance got a lot smaller, but as long as it was there he knew he wouldn't be able to forgive himself is he didn't do everything to try and find them.

"I agree." Lori said, Carol nodding along with her.

"Let's go." Glenn said in agreement.

There were several more nods around the group and Jenner watched it with a certain feeling of hope starting to form again, the same one that had been crushed when they hadn't gone looking for them the day before. Maybe he hadn't completely failed the world, if he was able to find her unharmed right now, that would mean he still had a chance of saving everyone. If she was harmed however-

He shook the thought out, not wanting to think about what he'd have to do to the poor woman if she was dead. She'd been nothing but nice to him, in contrast to some of the other members of the group. He didn't want to hurt her, but then again, he hadn't want to hurt his wife either.


	35. Chapter 35

_**Author's note:**_

_**Hey everyone, here is chapter 35 already! It's a 'happy' chapter, in comparison to some, so I hope you enjoy! Please review and let me know what you think!**_

_** Maddy-MarieXO : I know he is right now, but he'll get nicer (at least to the persons that matter haha) And he has his reasons too right, she was the one who technically started it, even if she doesn't know that just yet. Anyways, promise it'll get better :)**_

Chapter 35

Kaitlinn's POV

"We're almost there." The man grunted as an answer to our unspoken question of how far we still had to go. He sounded like he was in pain and I tried to lift my shoulder up more, thinking that maybe that would help support him more.

After introducing ourselves to him, and telling him what we were doing in the woods, the wary look in his eyes had faded slightly. It was still there however, hidden away by other emotions. I think that there were just two reasons he decided he could trust us. One was because of the little girl we had with us, the second was because we were the only way for him to get home.

He had told us all about what happened, the main thing being that he had twisted his ankle and that he couldn't walk far without a terrible pain coursing through him. His story reminded me of what happened to us yesterday, that man suddenly coming out of nowhere and making us come with him.

The man, who had introduced himself as Robert after finding out our names, had been inspecting the woods for any suspicious activity, human or otherwise. Eventually he'd run into a guy with a shotgun, who held him at gunpoint and told him to follow. He'd refused, and when the man's gun suddenly went off he'd backed away and twisted his ankle in the process. The guy left him there for dead, not wanting to have to drag a wounded man with him I guessed.

As I thought back to the story I started wondering. Maybe it was the same man who had forced us to follow him. Like I said, it sounded awfully familiar. Maybe later I could ask him about it. Not that it mattered much, the guy was dead anyway, but still I was curious in a way. First though we had to focus on getting this man home though.

With his ankle twisted he didn't get far without someone supporting him. Daryl and I, even though we weren't seeing eye to eye right now, had glanced at each other, both with the same thought. We couldn't leave this man out here like this, that wouldn't make us any better than the guy who'd left him before. When we told him we would help him get home he looked reluctant at first, soon though he agreed and allowed us to support him using our shoulders.

We had been walking for a long time, even though I didn't know exactly for how long. My feet were starting to hurt though, just like my shoulders, and I wasn't the only one hurting. If that had been the case I would've been able to walk for another day if necessary, but seeing Kirra's tired and pained face as she walked in shoes that probably caused blisters was something different. I was glad when I saw a house coming up to our right and Robert told us we were there. Kirra looked relieved at the news and inspected the house, like I did as well.

A quick glance was enough to see that it was a farmhouse once again, but this one looked a lot better than the other one had. It looked inviting even, flowers blooming in front of it and the windows lined by curtains with flower patterns. I couldn't help but smile at the sight, just like Kirra did. I wondered how the house had been able to stay like this, my answer coming out of the house in the form of an elderly lady.

"Oh God, Robert!" The woman cried out when she saw us. "I was so worried!" She continued, tears forming in her eyes as she came running up towards us. When she got closer Robert lifted his arms from our shoulders and took a step forward, opening his arms for a hug from what I guessed was his wife. When they had hugged and had given each other a quick kiss, she inspected him with worry written all over her face.

"What happened?" She asked, noticing her husband leaning on one foot more than the other, and glancing up at the both of us.

The man forced a smile at her. "I got hurt." He said calmly. "But I'll be fine."

She glanced at us once again, a slight frown on her face as she inspected us as well. The moment her eyes fell on Kirra they softened, a warm smile playing on her lips.

"I'll get your cane." She said when looking back up at her husband lovingly. "Be right back." She turned around and skipped towards the house, like a younger woman would do if feeling giddy. The moment she returned I glanced her over. She wasn't young anymore, that was obvious, but she had aged beautifully. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun and her eyes were a brilliant green, only enhanced in color by the knowledge she had gained over life.

Robert smiled gratefully at his wife as he took the cane, an obvious look of relief on his face as he had something to steady himself with.

"Who are these people?" The woman asked her husband curiously, looking at us with interest. Probably because she didn't get much visitors around here, apocalypse or not.

"These are Daryl and Kaitlinn," Robert said with a gentle smile towards his wife, who he obviously loved and cared for. "And this little girl here is Kirra."

Kirra grinned widely at the woman, "Hi," She said with a wave. The woman chuckled at the child's innocence, leaning down a bit so they were about the same height.

"How nice it is to meet you, dear." She said with a warm smile, then she straightened up again. "Thank you for helping my husband get home, I can't tell you how grateful I am for that."

I smiled at her, "It was nothing."

She shook her head, "It's not nothing, there are few people who still have standards around here. What a coincidence that I meet you today as well."

It stayed silent a second as her words sinked in and Daryl narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "As well?" He asked carefully with the same suspicion evident in his voice as in his eyes. I turned to glare at him, not liking his attitude towards such a lovely woman. I _was _interested though, and so I didn't say anything that would stop her from answering.

"What do you mean, dear?" Robert asked his wife, his brows furrowed.

She looked at her husband and smiled apologetically. "I know how you always tell me not to trust anyone, but they looked like such nice people."

"You invited them in." It wasn't a question, Robert seemed to know what his wife would do in these kind of situations. He didn't seem to like it much, which I could understand, but he knew.

"Of course I did, they had two children with them. They needed help finding some people they lost and I-" Suddenly something clicked and her eyes widened as she looked up at us again.

"I can't believe it…" She whispered. "I thought their search was a waste of time, but God forbid I ever dared to think that."

"You mean-" I started, my heart beating twice as loud as normal at what direction the conversation had taken. If what she was saying right now was right, then that would mean that….

"Kaitlinn! Kirra!"

Kirra and I both looked up with wide eyes, recognizing the sudden voice that resounded through the area. For a moment I thought I was dreaming, this couldn't be true, but they were here! They were really here!

Zayn came running out of the house, Nico following right behind him at the same speed. They both stopped in front of Kirra, giving her a big hug and then leaning back to see if she was alright at exactly the same time. They seemed glad with what they saw and I noticed Zayn look up at me to confirm that Kirra was alright. I nodded, smiling at how wondrous this all was. I saw him relax and breath a sigh of relief, mouthing a thank you to me before he turned around back to his siblings.

"So, turns out you're alive after all."

I recognized Dale's voice and looked up with a grin. "We did our best."

He laughed, pulling me in for a quick hug. Andrea was next to hug me, relief evident in her eyes.

"I am glad you're ok." She whispered right before backing up again. I smiled at her and nodded.

T-Dog nodded curtly towards me, frowning for some reason I didn't quite understand. Shane was inspecting me with his eyes, a smaller frown evident on his face. When he noticed me looking however he forced a smile and nodded as well, I smiled.

"Where's the rest?" I asked them, looking around and seeing no one else coming out of the house.

"They're still looking for you guys." Andrea said. "We split up in two groups so we would be quicker." She explained. "We agreed upon meeting again on the highway before dusk."

Now _that_ was something that I didn't particularly like to hear, my mind immediately going through all the things that could possibly go wrong. What the hell were we supposed to do if they didn't turn up? Why hadn't they just stuck together? Wouldn't that have been a lot smarter?

I didn't have any right to criticize their decision though, and I knew it. I'd split the group up myself by running after Kirra to the forest. It hadn't been smart, and now that Kirra was with me again I knew that, but I hadn't been thinking. Rick and Shane, well, they should've been thinking.

I couldn't get mad at them though, they came looking for us for God's sake! That was something that I hadn't expected and it warmed my heart in a way I couldn't describe. I'd started to see the group as a sort of family, and right now I could only hope that that family would be reunited.

I was happy with what I had now though. Kirra, Zayn and Nico together again. The only thing missing from all this was Sarah, and, even if I'd rather not admit it to myself, Daryl.

* * *

Robert and Lisbeth, which who how they formally introduced themselves as when we sat down together in the living room, had been together since they were 17. I never was much into 'love stories' but this one was just amazing. Lisbeth told us with such vigor about how her father had been against their relationship from the beginning, like Robert's mother had been as well. They had fought for three years with their parents, sneaking out to see each other and accepting the punishment if they were caught. One day though, when Lisbeth's father decided it was enough and gave her a choice, leave Robert or leave the house, they left together to start a new life.

Lisbeth's grandmother, who had loved Robert like he was her own, had left them this house and they've been living here for over 40 years now. They weren't planning on ever leaving it either. They lived as normal a life as possible, getting groceries from a nearby town that still had farms running to produce food. I got curious as to what the town would look like and wondered if I'd ever get the chance to go see it, but that was a question for later.

Lisbeth also told us that she had been worried sick about her husband, considering he hadn't come home for two days. Normally Robert went on a stake out around the forest to make sure there weren't any threats around. They'd been threatened by several humans before, and so he was as wary of them as he was of walkers. He would always be home within a day though, and when he wasn't she had started worrying. She thanked us again for bringing him home alive, and then gave her husband a lingering kiss.

I looked away from it for two reasons. The first one was that it was something that seemed too private to watch, two people having been in love for so long and still were together after the world went to hell. The second was that it reminded me of my kiss with Daryl, and that was something I'd rather forget. No wait. I didn't want to forget it, not really. I wanted it to happen over and over again. I wanted it to-

I shook my head, focusing back on the couple who was answering a question from Andrea.

Lisbeth was such an interesting person to listen to that even Kirra, who had previously been playing with the dollhouse next to the couch, turned around to listen in. After she was finished with their story, Robert mostly having been quiet and nodding or smiling once in a while, she asked us for ours. She told us that she was interested as to how we had gotten here and how we had lost each other.

I was the one to tell that story, for one reason and one reason only, Daryl wasn't someone who would tell them and we were the only ones who really knew what happened.

There were several gasps from Andrea and Lisbeth as I told them about what had happened to us as quickly as possible. After I was finished, having tried to avoid the gruesome details, knowing that Zayn and Nico were also listening, Lisbeth was frowning slightly.

"I can't believe how people can do these things…" She whispered, horrified.

I nodded, "Me neither." I said quietly.

I had skipped the bit of what happened between Daryl and me, for obvious reasons, but my thoughts were still with that moment. It was as if I tried to remember the whole thing but somehow I'd always get stuck with that in my head. If it hadn't been for the fact Shane hadn't spoken since we arrived and so his voice surprised me, I might've been lost in thought for longer than just a few minutes.

He interrupted our story time though, making me have to pay attention to him.

"I think it's time to go back." He said. "The rest might already be waiting for us."

That was enough to get us to be silent, and to get us to be active. We didn't want to make them wait, actually we wanted to see them again as soon as possible. At least I did. I wanted to know they were alright, that what I'd done hadn't harmed anyone. Because the guilt I'd be feeling if something happened to someone because I'd been so stupid to run away, was something I did not want to think about.


	36. Chapter 36

_**Author's note: Hey people, sorry for the delay in updating. I'm working hard on the next chapters but I can't promise I'll be updating every day I'm afraid. **_

_** Scarlet Nyx - Thanx for the review! I hope you get better soon! And that you can convince the hospital to get wifi ;). I'm glad you're still reading, at least I know I'm doing something good then haha.** _

**_I really hope you like this chapter! Please review and let me know :)_**

Chapter 36

Daryl's POV

"They're not here yet." Andrea's eyebrows furrowed as she said it, worry evident in her voice.

I felt like rolling my eyes at the obvious statement, but stopped myself. I wasn't exactly the kind of person to do those kind of things, at least not normally. Again, Kaitlinn could be an exception in that area.

_Goddamnit, _I thought, hating myself for thinking of Kaitlinn once again. She'd been creeping into my thoughts at the strangest of moments, getting close to driving me crazy to be honest.

I shook my head and focused on the view in front of me instead. It was getting closer to evening, the sun coloring the sky a dark orange. The concrete of the interstate was as orange as the sky, making it look ominous. There was something going to happen. That 'something' would not be that suddenly the rest of the group would appear, it was quite the opposite.

Rick wasn't here with his people and so I thought it safe to say they wouldn't be coming anymore either.

Shane had a frown on his face as he scanned the cars and the RV, the realization making his mouth set in a tight line. He was worried, I could see, thinking the same thing I was. The only difference between us was that he couldn't make himself believe it to be true, whereas I already had.

"Maybe they got caught up in some things." Lisbeth offered, trying to get the frown off of our faces like a concerned mother would. She and her husband had driven us here in their truck, as a thank you for bringing Robert home. He hadn't been all too keen on it himself, still not fully trusting us I guessed. I couldn't blame him for that though, they were with two and we were with 8. If I would've been him, I'd outright refused to bring us, even just to protect my wife.

_Wife!_

I almost laughed at the thought, but I was stopped by Kaitlinn's face entering my mind. Now _that _went too fucking far.

I shook my head and paid attention to the couple again instead, remembering how Lisbeth had tried to convince her husband to bring us and didn't stop before he would. She really was like a worried mother, wanting to see us all of safely. For what I was seeing now though, the empty highway, that might not be working out all too well.

I noticed Kaitlinn shooting the woman a sad look in response to her offer, shaking her head slowly and pulling the kids closer to her in an attempt to protect them from something that wasn't even there.

Ever since the kids had been reunited she didn't let them out of her sight, which I couldn't hold against her. She'd lost two of them already and I guessed she didn't want to go through that again, nor did I want her to. I'd caught myself shooting glances at the kids too, to make sure they were safe, just so that I'd never see her as vulnerable as I'd seen her yesterday again.

The fact I didn't want that sounded stupid in my ears, considering I should be angry at her. Actually, I _was _angry. And still I couldn't help myself.

I sighed, focusing back on the road and seeing my truck where I'd left it, the motorcycle still in the back. I walked up to it absentmindedly, rather finding something to keep me busy than letting my mind wander. I'd have some time to spend until Shane and the others would realize waiting was futile. Maybe Kaitlinn-

_No, don't think about her._

Instead I thought about what could've happened to the rest of the group, led by Rick. Rick was smart, he knew how to stay out of trouble. If he wasn't here, something bad must've happened, and I wondered what it was.

I traced the paint of my truck, it felt good to see something familiar. Not that I was that attached to my car, but I'd had it for some time already and it reminded me of better times. As I walked past the windshield I noticed a piece of paper sticking out from under the windshield wipers. I picked it up with a frown, like I used to do when I knew it was a pamphlet for something I didn't need. I never liked the idea of others touching my car.

This wasn't a pamphlet though, it was a letter. I guessed it had been written by Rick, but I didn't know his handwriting that well so I couldn't be sure. I read it quickly, a frown evident on my face that I couldn't help. They'd been planning to leave. Even if this letter had been written so that we would wait, if we hadn't been here they would've left, at least that's what it said. However, they had come looking for us. Why?

"We couldn't stay through the night and so we decided it would be best to leave that behind for you." Shane's voice suddenly sounded. I hadn't noticed him coming up to me and so I narrowed my eyes at him as I looked up. I'd rather just have him leave me alone, but maybe he could give me the answer I was looking for. He looked away from me, "I hadn't thought you to still be alive to be honest." He looked ashamed as he said it, but that didn't make it any better. Not that I cared about what he thought about me, even if he thought I was dead, but his thoughts could've gotten us stuck here and that was something that pissed me off.

"What made you change your mind?" I asked a bit skeptically and with a certain menacing tone in my voice.

He shifted his weight and then looked back at Kaitlinn over his shoulder. "Something Lori said," He muttered as he turned back around. "About how I owed it to Kate."

So _that _was the whole reason they stayed? Shane felt guilty towards Kate and so he decided that we were worth looking for? What did the rest of the group think? Did they even care about leaving us behind or not? Like they left my brother?

I snorted, "Good thing to know you're on our side." I said with a hostile edge, the same I'd used for Kaitlinn that morning. Now though I didn't feel hurt or betrayed, which was how I'd felt before. No, now I just felt pissed.

Shane seemed to want to protest but as I crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it over my shoulder, giving him the evil eye, he seemed to understand it was better to leave me be. I wished he'd understand that he would do better leaving me alone _all _the time, but that went too far I guess.

I looked at the piece of paper, now on the concrete, and thought of how I used to always do that with those stupid pamphlets as well. I remembered one time, when a young woman saw me throw it on the ground, being asked if I didn't care about the environment. I'd stared at the woman with slight amusement and when I saw her getting uncomfortable I just shrugged, getting in my car and driving off without even glancing at her a second time.

If you ask me, the environment was fucked up even before all this happened. There's no saving a world that's slowly dying. Me throwing a piece of paper on the ground wasn't going to speed up that process. Not that there was a process to speed up anymore, walkers got _that _done at least.

* * *

It must've been after an hour or so. I wasn't sure how long we had waited exactly, but it was damn near long enough. I'd known however that if _I _was the one to say something about it, the only thing I would achieve is getting glared at. That's the reason I'd been waiting for someone else to bring it up, not realizing how long that would take. Now though, everyone's attention was directed at Andrea, who'd asked the main question running through my, and everyone else's, mind.

"How long are we gonna wait?"

There had been a silence before, lingering over us and giving off the same ominous feeling as the orange light from the sun had. As Andrea spoke and broke that silence the faces turned into looks of surprise.

Shane, sitting on top of a car that had been abandoned, looked at her sideways. He had his knees spread and his elbows resting on them. It was obvious he didn't know how to answer the question, as he remained silent and rubbed his temple in an attempt to think I guessed.

"We can't wait forever." Dale continued instead of Andrea. He came out of the RV, where he'd been rummaging through for something to do while we had been waiting. His face looked dark, regretting and at the same time determined. "We have to get out of here before it gets dark."

Shane closed his eyes as Dale gestured at the sun, which was getting closer to disappearing with every second. He sighed but still didn't answer, making me want to curse Rick for giving him the title 'leader', because, even though I didn't like it, that was what he was. While he had that title, he would be the one deciding what happened, except of course if all of us decide otherwise. Guess democracy isn't that bad.

"We should be plannin' what we're gonna do if they don't show up." I said when I noticed Shane's hesitant posture. I was sitting in the back of my truck, having been inspecting my crossbow for some time now. I hadn't used it since it fell to the floor and I was trying to see if there was anything wrong with it. I didn't want to have to use it and then find out it wasn't working anymore.

"They're gonna show up!" Shane snapped, raising his head and glaring at me with full force. "We just have to be patient." He continued a bit calmer. He didn't sound convincing though, and he seemed to notice that as well.

"Shane," Kaitlinn said softly, trying to get his attention. She had been sitting with the kids on top of another car, telling them a story I had guessed. Her focus had shifted from them to Shane the moment we started talking about what to do, a slight frown on her face since we started.

When Shane looked up at her reluctantly she sighed. "You can't just assume they're gonna show up." She said. "That would be a mistake and you know it." Shane's jaw set and he closed his eyes for a moment. "Daryl's right," Kaitlinn continued. "We should be planning ahead, in case they don't show up."

To say that she surprised me by saying I was right, was an understatement. It shouldn't have however. If there was someone who could separate her personal problems from her survival instincts, it was Kaitlinn and she knew, as well as everyone else, something had to be done right now.

"Uhmm…" Lisbeth started, asking for our attention. Shane and Kaitlinn stared each other down a few seconds, before turning to Lisbeth. She smiled warmly, "If you need a place to stay for a few nights, we wouldn't mind to have you around the house." She offered.

Her husband looked less than willing to take us in, but she didn't back away. She obviously wanted to take care of us, she'd even waited for us when Shane had told them they could leave if they wanted to. I guess she understood that the chance that the group would return was slim, and she wanted to be able to help us if they didn't come, like she was now doing.

"That's too much to ask for Lisbeth," Andrea protested, Kaitlinn nodding in agreement. "It really is."

"No it isn't." Lisbeth quickly said. "We have several spare rooms, and it would be good to have some company around the house other than just my grumpy husband." She said it with a joking edge, but she really did seem to not mind our company. "Plus," she continued. "I could use the help around the house, if you wouldn't mind helping me."

Andrea and Kaitlinn shared an uncertain glance, while Dale took a step forward.

"Are you sure?" he asked carefully, not wanting to pressurize her.

Lisbeth smiled brightly, "I am." She answered. "You can make plans at our place."

I watched the both of them, seeing that her husband didn't really like the idea of strangers hanging around the house all that much, but he kept his mouth shut and so the decision was soon made. Shane didn't openly agree or disagree, but he knew that he couldn't say no. Even if he felt obliged to wait for the people he cared for, he couldn't leave 'his' group behind to go on alone.

I pushed myself out of the back of my truck and headed over to the passenger door. I knew I'd put a handgun in the glove compartment and decided now was the time to take it with me. The chances I would use it were small, but I'd have something to use in case my crossbow really didn't work. I hadn't been able to find any faults, I just didn't want to take any chances.

As I opened the glove compartment I saw Kaitlinn's picture in it, on top of the hand gun. I had completely forgotten about that and for a moment I hesitated. Should I take it with me? But why would I? We would be coming back here right? Or would we? I wasn't so sure, and so I shoved it in my pocket as a precaution. I didn't know why, but I knew I didn't want to lose it.

Truth was I wanted to ask if I could take my truck, or my motorcycle, with me as well. Just in case we needed a vehicle to get away in. Asking that wasn't an option though, as everyone believed we'd come back here someday soon, to continue our journey. I hoped I was wrong to doubt, but I could live without those vehicles if necessary. My truck would make too much noise anyway, and my motorcycle even more.

Robert's truck's engine had been adjusted in such a way that it made a lot less noise. He'd told me that, rather proudly, when I said that taking the truck wasn't smart because of the walkers it would attract. I had to admit that the truck had surprised me, being as silent as it was, but not in a bad way.

I followed the rest towards Robert's truck, getting into the back with them. Lisbeth and Robert were in the front, discussing about us I guessed as I saw Robert's uncertain and suspicious expression.

I sat next to Andrea and T-dog, across from Shane and Kaitlinn who were sitting next to each other. Shane had a deep frown on his face, confliction evident in his eyes. I respected the loyalty he felt towards Rick, but it didn't make me like him more, or make me feel sorry for him. Especially not considering the conflict suddenly disappeared when Kaitlinn whispered something in his ear. They locked eyes for longer than I thought necessary and I quickly looked away from them, clenching my fists and jaw to stop from doing anything stupid.

I shouldn't be jealous of her, I just shouldn't. I'd established she didn't want me in _that _way, so why did I still want her? And why, if she really didn't 'like' me, had I caught her glancing at me several times in the past hour? And why did she quickly look away whenever I did?

Fuck she was confusing me again.

I sighed, taking in my surroundings carefully and making sure there weren't any walkers around that could attack us. That was able to distract me for a second, but soon my thoughts started wondering again. This time I directed my thoughts at one specific thing, so Kaitlinn wouldn't be part of it anymore. The only question that I could think of right now was that 'thing'.

What the hell are we going to do now?

Kaitlinn's POV

"Are they sleeping?" A soft voice to my left asked, startling me. I'd been watching the kids for some time now and hadn't even noticed that she had entered the room. I looked up at Lisbeth and smiled, nodding in answer to her question as my heart started calming down again. That scared me a lot more than it should've.

"I bet they were exhausted." She continued, taking a step closer. I nodded again, looking back at Kirra, Zayn and Nico, huddled together in a real bed. Maybe that was part of the reason they'd fallen asleep so easily, seeing a real bed after such a long time makes you want to sleep instantly. Adding the stress of missing each other, and the relief of finding each other, it would've surprised me if they hadn't been exhausted.

"Yeah," I whispered softly, watching the kids' even breaths as they lay there with their eyes closed.

"You must've missed them." She said softly, "A mother can never do long without her children."

I chuckled softly and shook my head, "I'm not their mother Lisbeth, I'm just taking care of them until we find their mother."

She nodded thoughtfully, as if her suspicions had been proven right. "I have to admit," She started with a chuckle, "I thought you were a little young for three kids."

That made me smile at her, shaking my head slightly in amazement. We stayed silent for a minute, just watching the three children. All kinds of thoughts were now running through my mind, about Sarah, the rest of the group and Jacksonville. I sure hoped everything would work out, but of course you could never be too sure about these things.

I sighed, looking up at Lisbeth and forcing a smile. "We'd better get downstairs again, before they start worrying." I joked. She laughed, leading the way out of the room. I followed her, looking back once more at the smiles on the kids' sleeping faces, hoping their dreams were a lot better than real life was.

As I reached the hallway my attention was pulled towards the wall immediately. It was infested with pictures, just like the table in front of the wall was. Actually, now that I thought about it, the whole house seemed to be filled with photographs. I remember that there had been at least a dozen downstairs, several with the couple in their younger years, but also a few of a young man. The same young man that was in the picture right in front of me now, smiling proudly into the camera.

"Is this your son?" I asked Lisbeth, taking one of the pictures in my hand and inspecting the young man's face. He was handsome, the same green eyes as Lisbeth and a smile that looked a lot like Robert's. I couldn't help but smile at the happy looking guy, glancing up at Lisbeth while awaiting an answer. When I caught her sad smile I bit the inside of my lip, furrowing my brows at my question. Maybe I should've thought before suddenly asking things about family members. I cursed myself, and was about to apologize when the sad smile made place for one that showed pride and love.

"Yes it is." She said. "His name was Robert Junior."

I couldn't help but be curious, and so the next question was out of my mouth before I could stop it. Cursed curiosity.

"What happened to him?" I cringed at the question, "If you don't mind me asking." I quickly added. Obviously he was dead, if not for the sad look that had been in her eyes before, it would've been obvious by the amount of pictures of him around this place. You never have much pictures of those who are still alive, at least I never did. Then again, I didn't even _have_ a picture of my family anymore.

She shook her head, "Of course I don't mind. I love talking about my boy."

I nodded, waiting patiently for her to start. She seemed to be thinking about how she should begin, but soon she was telling the story with such a proud and caring voice that I wished I could've met her son before he died.

"He always wanted to join the army," She started with a distant look in her eyes, "ever since he was 6, which was when he got his first miniature soldiers." She laughed at the memory.

"Such a sweet kid he was, always helping everyone out and never feeling like he'd done enough. When he was finally old enough to join the army, I can't start describing how happy he was. He came home grinning, nearly jumping up and down in excitement, when he passed his physical."

She fell silent a moment, starting to fidget with her hands. "He got deployed a few months after joining." She said. The silence that followed was heavy and she blinked away several tears that started to form. "And he never came back." She whispered as she reached up to the heart shaped necklace around her neck and a tear finally escaped her eye. I instantly felt bad for her and reached out to comfort her.

"I'm sorry for your loss," I whispered, not knowing what else to say. There wasn't much _to _say really.

The woman smiled gratefully, "At least he died while doing something he loved," She said. "Which can't be said a lot."

She was right. Dying while doing something you love only happened to those who dared to do the things they wanted, no matter the dangers. It would have been rare in the past, now, when it happened, it could be called exceptional. There weren't much people who would 'love' running from, or fighting, zombies. At least not that I know of.

"Come on," Lisbeth suddenly said, her smile back in place again. "Let's go down."

She turned around and walked down the stairs, her saddened expression already miles away. I looked at the picture of the young man again and smiled. At least he hadn't had to die in a world like this, _that_ at least was something positive wasn't it?

I tried to convince myself of that as I headed down the stairs as well, following after Lisbeth and feeling a certain respect towards her for having lived through all this and still being able to smile so genuinely.

"Anyone in for some tea?" I heard her ask as I reached the floor. I saw her clapping her hands together in a motherly fashion as she looked around the group.

"I'd love some honey." Robert said with a grateful smile, looking up from something that lay spread out on the coffee table in front of him. Shane and T-Dog, who were sitting across from him, looked up as well, nodding once before returning to discussing what they'd been discussing before.

Andrea nodded next, a warm smile on her face. Daryl was the only one who didn't acknowledge the question. He'd been quiet ever since we returned, which wasn't that weird for him, but I still couldn't say I liked it.

After we had returned everyone had been led straight to the living room. Not a second went by without Shane and T-Dog trying to come up with ideas of what we could do. Dale had joined them, as did Robert. Andrea and I'd stayed on the background a bit, like Lisbeth and the kids. Daryl had been sitting in such a way that he could hear what was being said, but he didn't have to openly participate. He was thinking of a solution himself, I could see.

We hadn't come very far however, none of us had. The only thing we had decided was that tonight we would stay here, and after that we would see. Shane, of course, didn't like the plan much, but considering he had no ideas either we had no choice.

I'd gone upstairs before, bringing the kids to bed. It was late, almost midnight, and so it was definitely bed time for them. Lisbeth noticed them yawning and told them they could get some sleep in one of the rooms on the second floor if they wanted to. They'd looked relieved at the offer and I took them up, to the first room on the right which Lisbeth had pointed out.

The room had looked like a boy's room, now I knew who it had belonged to. There were still a few posters on the walls, from the army, and little plastic soldiers and cars on the shelves. The kids didn't mind all the stuff though, actually I thought Nico and Zayn actually liked it. They stared at the toys and I had to stop them from touching anything, instructing them to get into bed instead. I tucked them in quickly and told them a short story, during which they all fell asleep.

I'd stayed up there for at least half an hour, hoping that when I got down again the plan would be settled, guess that wasn't the case, considering the frowns that were evident on their faces.

I followed Lisbeth into the kitchen instead of watching the rest, deciding I might as well help her make some tea.

"Thank you for letting them sleep in there." I said to her with a smile.

She looked up at me and smiled back, "It's nothing, dear." She said, taking out the tea cups and handing them to me. I nodded, taking them from her and waiting for her to finish so that we could bring everything to the living room. She grinned at me when she was finished with the tea, trying to get me to smile genuinely I guessed.

"Now come on and let's sit down together, we have some planning to do. And even though men say we can't plan, I still remember planning my wedding." She winked as she brought the tea pot with her to the living room, me following behind her with a soft chuckle leaving my lips at her statement.

Robert was sitting in a leather chair, across from the couch where Shane, T-dog and Andrea were on, just like before. Daryl sat on a wooden chair, half listening to what Shane was saying I guessed. Andrea wasn't as interested and looked relieved when I arrived, probably glad she'd have someone to talk to.

I set the tea cups down on the coffee table and took the wooden chair I'd been sitting on earlier, putting it next to the couch. I faced the others, who were hovering over the coffee table with a piece of paper in front of them, as Lisbeth sat down next to her husband in another leather chair. She put the tea pot on the side of the table that wasn't occupied and started pouring everyone a cup.

"So is there a plan yet?" She asked in a soft and friendly tone when she'd handed everyone a cup of tea.

Shane glanced up, looking rather annoyed at the sudden intrusion of their conversation. I glared at him, not liking his look, but he didn't notice. Lisbeth also didn't notice, as her husband was shaking his head in regret, his eyes narrowed at the paper in front of them.

"No, there isn't." He said with the same note of regret. I wondered if the regret was because he hated not being able to help us, or rather that he hated that we would be staying here until we _did _have a plan. I didn't ask though, and Lisbeth didn't seem to be bothered by the regretful note in his voice.

"Well," Lisbeth said, clapping her hands together once again and looking determined.

"Time to change that."


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Kaitlinn's POV

A dream.

That was the first thing that crossed my mind as I smelled the eggs and bacon. I was convinced that everything that had happened had been a dream, and that if I opened my eyes I'd be in Daryl's truck and he'd de watching me with those calm blue eyes.

That was what I hoped would happen, because it would mean that Daryl and I wouldn't be on bad terms and that we would act normal again towards each other. However, 'hope' wasn't exactly something that worked out well, and so when I shifted my weight and felt the mattress underneath me, I knew it hadn't been a dream.

The feeling of dread that entered me made me want to crawl away under the blankets and just leave for the dream world again. I couldn't do that though. Not only because it was time to get up, but also because I couldn't let Daryl's cold attitude get to me. If I did that I wouldn't survive another day, and that was not part of my plan. The only thing I had to do was keep control of my emotions as I was a bitch right back at him. I'd just have to be strong until he apologized, or started acting normal again. One of the two was enough, I didn't care which he would choose, but I wasn't going to be nice to him if he wasn't nice to me, that was for sure.

Feeling the determination course through me I slowly sat up, rubbing my eyes and opening them to take a look around the room. It was mostly dark, the only light coming from behind the thick dark red curtains. The way the light tried to escape from behind them reminded me of home.

I remember that when I was young I used to always wake up because of the light from the sun that shone relentlessly through my window. I couldn't sleep with all that light and when I told my mom that she smiled, an excited glint in her eyes. I didn't know why until she put me to work, making my own curtains that would stop the light from entering.

When I finished, after having yelped every time I pricked myself, I felt proud of myself. From then on every morning when I saw that the light couldn't get through the thick fabric, that same sense of pride made me start the day with a smile. I had been able to stop a force of nature from waking me, and that felt empowering, I was twelve at the time.

Now, I wished I would be able to stop another force of nature, an undead force. That wasn't as easy as stitching though, and the worst thing that could happen wasn't a pin prick that drew a drop of blood.

I sighed, pushing myself off the bed reluctantly. I'd rather watch the light the rest of the morning, but that wouldn't exactly be productive. Andrea, who had shared the bed with me because there hadn't been enough spare rooms, had already gotten out of bed. She probably had gone downstairs already. If she was awake I bet that Shane and T-Dog were also up, and Daryl for that matter. They were probably working on a plan right now and I should be doing the same. I had been the whole reason they had to come looking for us, so I should at least be getting out of bed.

The first thing we should be thinking of is how we were going to find the others back. Maybe, if Lisbeth and Robert lived around here, there would be other people around. There might be someone who saw, or heard, from them. If not, we would be facing a bigger problem. Where the hell had they gone? We had no idea where they went and the only thing we _do _know is where they had started their search. That didn't say much however.

We couldn't split up and both go looking for them, then we would be making the exact same mistake all over again, and I wasn't planning on repeating that.

I opened the curtains, squinting my eyes at the sudden light. When they finally had adjusted I saw the green forest, the perfect view to start your morning with. The only thing missing were the chirping birds. There was a problem with that though, as those had left this place a long time ago.

They say animals have instincts that tell them a disaster is about to strike, I guess that is true. I still remember when I first noticed something strange, a week before I got attacked. The birds that usually chirped so happily in the back yard, had stopped singing. When I started to look for them though, because I was missing their songs, I saw that they weren't just not singing, they weren't there at all. It was as if every bird had disappeared, leaving their homes without looking back.

Then it had saddened me, not to be able to hear them sing anymore. That changed over the next few months, as I started getting used to the silence and embracing it. I thought back to the birds once in a while, wondering what happened to them. I liked to think they were lucky and that they had been able find a safe place where they could sing their hearts out. The truth was that I needed to think those things once in a while, just to believe that not everything was doomed.

I turned around and looked around the room once again. It had a double bed, made out of dark colored wood, with purple covers. There was a dresser, made from the same kind of wood, against the wall across from the bed, with a large mirror above it. It was the guest room, Lisbeth had told us, which was the reason it wasn't all too full. Not that I minded, I liked the way it looked and I wouldn't have complained if I hadn't liked it. I walked over to the dresser and caught myself in the mirror. I was wearing a short nightgown Lisbeth had given me. It wasn't sexy or anything, not with the flower pattern on it, but it was good enough to sleep in. I'd actually been grateful she gave me this to wear, at least I didn't have to sleep in my filthy clothes. The same clothes that were now gone from where I'd put them in the lower drawer.

I was about to call downstairs and ask the rest if they'd seen my clothes, when I noticed a clean bundle of clothes in the top drawer with a note on top of it.

_Thought you might want some clean clothes_

_~Lisbeth_

I smiled at the note and shook my head slowly as I picked up the bundle of clothes and inspected it. It wasn't that I would be complaining if there was anything there that I didn't like, everything was better than wearing my dirty clothes, but I was still curious.

I saw a pair of army trousers, making me grin widely. Not because they were stylish, far from it, but I loved them anyway. I guessed they must've belonged to Lisbeth's son and made a mental note to thank her for them later. Other than the pants there was a simple black shirt and underwear, it looked like she had washed my bra before she put it back and I thanked her silently. This woman really was like a mother, taking care of us like this.

I quickly changed and grinned when I saw myself in the mirror. I looked like someone who would love to join the army and even though that wasn't true I didn't mind. The feeling of the army trousers reminded me of home, of my brother. He used to have the same sort of pants and I always stole them from him. Not only to annoy him, though that _was _the main reason, I also did it because they were seriously comfortable.

My smile soon turned into a frown, as memories of my family's death started to resurface again. I hated the fact that I couldn't just think of the positive things, the fun times I'd had with them, without any deaths filling my thoughts.

I wondered how long we could stay here without forming a threat to these friendly people. I didn't want Lisbeth and Robert to get hurt because of us, and I knew that with the more people you were, the bigger the chance was of getting found by walkers. There were more people who could make sounds, or who could be bleeding. However the feeling of a group surrounding you, of people being there for you and looking out for you, that was something that felt safe.

I wished Lori, Carol, Carl, Sophie and the rest were all ok. I really didn't want anything happening to them, I had started caring for all of them. Not as much as I had started to care for Daryl, but enough to not make me want to find them dead.

Daryl's POV

"Mmm, it smells delicious in here."

Andrea's voice carried itself through the room, making me want to groan in annoyance. I had a horrible headache, resulting from two nights of complete lack of sleep, and her voice wasn't exactly something I wanted to hear.

I rubbed my temples as I heard her make her way to the kitchen, where Lisbeth was cooking breakfast, quite loudly if I may say so. I seriously wondered how she'd been able to survive for so long without the group to protect her, because the way she moved was like she was trying to make as much noise as possible.

I knew that Shane, T-Dog, Robert, Dale, Zayn, Nico and Kirra were already at the table, eating to their heart's content. I, on the other hand, hadn't even gotten up from the couch yet, which wasn't usually how I spent my mornings. Then again, I didn't usually spend my nights sleepless either.

I never had any trouble sleeping, taking naps between my rounds if necessary. I knew how important sleep was, to stay alert and all, so I always did my best to get the sleep I needed. Now though I've had two nights without sleep, and I hadn't had a chance to take any naps.

Two nights ago I couldn't sleep because of Kaitlinn, and last night she still hadn't left my worrying mind. The other reason I stayed awake was that I wasn't one to believe in the whole 'let's all go to sleep and nothing will happen' thing, I've lived in this world too long and knew that wasn't how it worked. I had gotten the couch assigned as my sleeping quarters, and I hadn't minded. I'd kept an eye out for anything that looked suspicious or dangerous outside. There was nothing though, we were safe.

I knew, even though I'd tried to convince myself that the main reason was that I was worried about our safety, that the real reason I hadn't been able to sleep, and the only reason, was Kaitlinn.

Every time I closed my eyes, it could be for a second or for an hour, I thought back to the kiss we'd shared, followed by the image of Kaitlinn pretending to be asleep. If I kept my eyes shut any longer I'd think back to our conversation the next morning, and to the way we'd acted ever since. I was worried, and for once I wasn't worried about how to survive, but rather about what to do while I was still alive.

I knew, from experience, that you had to take one day at a time, especially now. But while Kaitlinn and I were 'fighting', or whatever you want to call it, I couldn't say that I was happy, or as close to happy as you can be after all that has happened. I didn't want her to be mad at me, and I didn't want to be mad at her either. It just seemed like every time I remember her 'pretend sleep' I couldn't help myself and I'd get pissed. She had seriously hurt me with that, and truth is that Daryl Dixon doesn't normally _get _hurt.

I sighed, pushing myself off the couch and stretching my arms and neck to try and relax. Not that I thought it would work, but it was at least worth a try. I'd been staying here all morning not because of the headache, but because I'd been waiting for Kaitlinn to come down. I didn't know exactly what I was planning to do if she did, maybe apologize? I was hoping that if I did we would be able to act normal again towards each other, and forget about the kiss. Not that I wanted to, but now it seemed like she didn't want anything to do with it, so I would do better forgetting about it as well.

Right now though, that didn't matter. I was getting sick of waiting and letting my thoughts wander, I needed something to distract me, so I headed towards the kitchen.

As I entered Lisbeth looked up with a warm smile on her lips. Soon though it changed into a look of concern. "Are you feeling ok, son?" She asked.

I clenched my jaw, wanting to snap at her that I was fine. That would be rude though, and I didn't want to be rude towards someone who was only trying to be nice, not to Lisbeth anyway. So instead of snapping I nodded, choosing a spot next to the door where I leaned back against the wall, watching the rest, who's attention had turned back to where it had been before.

Andrea and Dale were telling a story to Kirra and Nico while they were eating. Robert was talking to Zayn about his truck, Zayn listening with an interested look on his face. Shane and T-Dog were both quiet. T-Dog was eating clumsily with his left hand, his right hand bandaged up and unusable. I hadn't noticed it before, but considering I didn't care all that much it didn't really matter.

I stayed like that, watching the rest in silence and doing my best to not let my mind wander. When suddenly the sound of footsteps distracted everyone, I kept staring at the table. We all knew who would be coming in, and I couldn't say I particularly liked it. I couldn't apologize in front of everyone like this, especially not in front of that damn Shane. If I'd just waited on the couch a bit longer-

"Kaitlinn," Lisbeth greeted the figure that had appeared in the doorway, the same warm smile on her lips as had been before. I watched everyone's face and noticed Shane's eyes widen slightly as he saw her. That made my own eyes narrow as I started wondering why. The moment I looked up however, I knew.

She might be wearing army trousers which were too big and formless, but she looked damn sexy in them. The simple T-shirt she wore on top of it complimented her figure and made up for the figureless pants. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, which was good because if her hair had been loose I might've not been able to control my thoughts. Now I was able to focus on what she was saying rather than what she was wearing, which wasn't much but at least something.

"Morning," She said with a smile, more natural than I'd ever heard her speak before. She walked over to Kirra and kissed her forehead, messing Nico's hair up and high fiving Zayn who was already sitting with his hand up. When she found everyone else staring at her questioningly she just grinned, "Our normal morning ritual. Used to do it every day." She said with the same grin. After everyone seemed to understand she walked over to Lisbeth and thanked her for the clothes.

"No problem dear," The elderly woman said, "Would you like something to eat maybe?"

She looked around the table which was full of all kinds of stuff. Bread, butter, milk, peanut butter, Jelly, everything. For a moment she looked surprised at the wide assortment, probably not having expected it. I had to admit that if I hadn't heard Dale's surprised exclamation as he'd seen it, I would've been as surprised as her.

"I think I can make do with all this," She said with a chuckle as she had composed herself again. "Where did you get it all?" She asked.

Lisbeth was the one to chuckle this time, facing away from the pan she'd been making eggs with and taking the chair next to her husband to sit down on. Kaitlinn did the same, only taking place next to Zayn instead of Robert. She took some bread and started making herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, earning her a disgusted look from Andrea which made her laugh. She soon directed her attention at Lisbeth again though, still waiting for an answer.

"Robert goes into town every week," Lisbeth explained when she caught Kate's look. "He brings everything with him." She said with a shrug as she took the Jelly.

"Town?" I asked without thinking, wondering what she was talking about and not being able to stop myself from asking. The word sounded strange in my ears, I had been convinced that there were no real towns left. The way she said it though it sounded like a place that was still 'alive' so to speak, and that made me curious.

Kaitlinn looked up at the sudden sound of my voice, as if she hadn't noticed me before. That agitated me slightly, but I wasn't about to make things worse between us by snapping at her, even though I wanted to badly.

Lisbeth seemed to notice my agitation, a small frown showing on her face. It disappeared when she started talking again, directing her answer at me. "Yes, town." She said. "Actually, Robert?" Robert looked up from an old newspaper he was reading and made a sound that told her to continue. "Weren't you planning on going again today?"

He hesitated a second before replying, inspecting the faces of the members of the group. I think he still didn't completely trust us, which I didn't find strange. Eventually though he nodded.

Lisbeth smiled excitedly. "You can take them with you," She said. "Maybe there is someone in town that knows something about the rest of their group!"

This exclamation attracted Shane's attention and he looked up at Robert. "Would you mind?" He asked.

Robert was frowning, obviously not liking the idea. "Truth is actually that I had decided today wasn't the best day to go," He admitted. I guessed because we would have stayed behind with his wife, which wasn't the best option. He started thinking though, probably believing that if he took a part of us with him we wouldn't be as much of a threat. "But I guess we can go." He finally decided. "Who will be coming then?"

Shane looked around the group, deciding for us that every guy would come along except for Zayn and Nico. Lisbeth noticed Zayn's disappointed face and frowned. "Can Zayn come along as well?" She asked her husband.

Kaitlinn froze a second at the sound of Zayn's name and then looked up. Zayn looked at his siblings before silently asking Kaitlinn for permission. I noticed her hesitating and for a moment she locked eyes with me, as if she was checking something. She quickly looked away again though and smiled at Zayn, giving him the ok. Zayn seemed excited and was grinning during the rest of breakfast. I didn't feel that bad anymore either actually.

I knew why she'd looked at me, and that made me feel better than before. It meant that she trusted me enough to leave Zayn with me. This was a good thing, because maybe if I apologized we would really be able to act normal towards each other again. If she still trusted me enough to send one of the three kids with me, that meant there was still hope and I liked that fact.

_**Author's Note:**_

_**So Daryl feels betrayed because Kaitlinn acted like she was asleep when he returned downstairs after the kiss. That is the thing pissing him off, and the fact he's pissed off makes her pissed off etc. Hope that's a good enough explanation! If you have any other questions just PM or review and I'll answer. (Promise it'll be ok soon again between them btw! I'm just struggling a bit with what's gonna happen between them after they kissed, sorry... haha. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please Review!**_


	38. Chapter 38

_**Author's note: HeyHey, so as you might've noticed I'm not updating everyday anymore .**_

_**At the moment I am stuck... seriously stuck... and I HATE IT. I've got chapter 39 almost ready, but after that I just... I know how I want to continue, but how I'm gonna fill chapter 40 is like.. BWAH I DON'T KNOW. **_

_**Ok sorry, I'm just annoyed by myself, that's all. Soooo... I know it's hard to think of ways to continue a chapter that's not even online yet, but if you've got ideas, go ahead and let me know haha. Of course you can also just read and wait for me to figure out what my problem is and get on writing... I'll get chapter 40 done eventually... **_

_**Hope you like this chapter anyways, please do review and let me know ^^**_

Chapter 38

Kaitlinn's POV

I watched them leave, my arms crossed over my chest in an attempt to calm my nerves. I couldn't seem to get a good grip on those nerves though, there was something about seeing them disappear that unsettled me. Maybe it was the fact that we were splitting the group up, again, the same as we'd done twice already and let's be honest, neither of those times had played out all that well.

I could also be because Zayn was going with them, which meant I couldn't keep an eye on him myself. He wasn't going alone though, so that couldn't be it, could it?

There was a huge difference compared to the other times we had split up. Robert was with them. He'd gone on this trip more than a hundred by himself, so the truth was I didn't have that much reason to feel nervous. If he had been able to survive on his own, than Daryl was sure to be able to protect himself and Zayn at the very least.

_Daryl_

We hadn't said a word to each other this morning. Actually the only time I even looked at him had been while weighing my options on letting Zayn go or not. The thought of not being able to protect him made me feel uneasy, but I knew that I could trust Daryl enough to still protect him, even if we weren't doing all that well.

Don't get me wrong, I _wanted _to talk to him, more than anything. I wanted to be able to just act normal again but I had no idea how I could even think about doing that. If I started acting like nothing happened, then what? Would we just forget about everything? Forget that we ever even kissed? Because if that was what was going to happen, I didn't want that, I didn't want-

Suddenly I realized why I was feeling nervous. It wasn't because of the group splitting up again, or Zayn going along with them, it was because of Daryl. I was afraid that now that we were 'fighting', or rather just ignoring each other, that I might lose him. All those stories you always hear about people fighting with those they care about and then losing them, I was afraid that was exactly what was going to happen. What if he died? Or what if he just left. They were going to a town that was probably a lot better than camping outside with a group of people who didn't even like him. What reason did he have to return if the one person who had acted normal towards him, me, wasn't even doing that anymore?

Of course Daryl wasn't a guy who would 'just' leave something behind when he sees something better, but that conviction didn't stop my stomach from doing nervous backflips as they disappeared between the trees.

_Please come back_

I thought as I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. That kiss had affected me in ways I'd rather not think too much about, especially not as he didn't seem to be affected in the same way whatsoever. I let go of the breath I'd held and turned back to Lisbeth as I pushed all thoughts away and tried to empty my head of any unnecessary worries. They would come back, they had to, at least that was what I convinced myself of.

"You needed help with some things?" I asked her with as happy a smile I could muster.

She eyed me a second, seemingly confused by the forced happiness she saw right through, before returning the smile. I was grateful she didn't comment on the mask I was wearing right now, while at the same time I kind of wanted her to. It would be good to just talk to someone about it, someone who didn't have any prejudices towards Daryl.

"I do," She said with a smile, ready to distract me with chores. "We can start with the dishes if you don't mind." She looked from me to Andrea, questioning us with her eyes. The both of us shared a glance and shrugged, "Fine with me." I answered.

"I don't mind either." Andrea said. "To be honest, and I'd never thought I'd say this, I think I'd love to do the dishes."

That made all of us chuckle as we headed back inside, towards the kitchen. As I called Kirra and Nico, to come and help us out, I wondered how Lisbeth stayed sane while her husband was out. I was already going crazy with worry, and they hadn't even been gone for five minutes.

Lucky for me, and my nerves, I would be too busy today to think about it too much. At least I thought I would be.

* * *

Andrea was right. If you would've told me a few months ago that one day I'd be happy to be able to do the dishes, I would've laughed right in your face and call you insane. But now, I was actually enjoying it.

Lisbeth had told us that she did the dishes every three days, so they wouldn't waste _too _much water. That was the reason the dirty plates, glasses and silverware were mostly piled up on the kitchen counter, waiting to be cleaned. I'd noticed the pile this morning, but for some reason I hadn't thought of it as strange. Now though, as I was able to think about it some more, it's actually one of the strangest things I have seen in the past few weeks.

In a normal world piled up dishes weren't anything out of the ordinary, it just indicated there was no dishwasher, or that it was broken. Today, it was amazing that they had even gotten dirty really. If I hadn't known about the town I would've wondered where they'd gotten their food from to put on the plates.

Cleaning them wasn't a punishment though, not anywhere near it. It made us feel normal again, happy even.

Lisbeth was standing in front of the sink, using a brush and detergent to clean. My job, together with Nico and Kirra, who had been jumping in excitement when they found out they could help, were drying the dishes Lisbeth cleaned using three fresh towels. I had to admit that I was doing most of the work, Kirra and Nico rather playing with the soap bubbles than actually drying plates, but I didn't mind.

Andrea was the one to put everything that was clean back in the kitchen cabinets Lisbeth pointed out.

There was something in the air, Kirra's soft chuckles combined with the scent of soap made it all feel homely and safe. It made all of us forget about the horrors outside this room, forget about what was waiting for us eventually. Every time that safe feeling took a hold over me though, it reminded me of how unsafe Daryl and Zayn were right now. The worst thing of all, was that I didn't seem to be able to get that thought out of my head in this silence. I had to get people talking, or I would slowly go insane with worry.

So Robert goes to the town once a week?" I asked Lisbeth as I took another plate from her, drying it quickly and handing it to Andrea who put it in the cabinet. It wasn't just a question to distract me, even though right now that was the main thing behind it, it was also something I was curious about. I hadn't heard of towns that were still 'alive', if that's what you want to call it. It was something that felt foreign and new but at the same interesting.

"Yes, mostly." Lisbeth said with a small smile in my direction. "We try to keep up with the gossip out of town." She chuckled. "Some weeks though he decides that it's better to stay here. Weeks with, for example, unusual walker activity. The town isn't far, but the road can be quite dangerous at times."

_Oh great, now that makes me feel better._

She saw my expression and smiled reassuringly, "They'll be fine, dear. He always is."

I wish her words could reassure me, but they didn't. I was good at keeping my face composed this time around though, and so the smile I gave her convinced her that I had in fact been reassured.

"Don't you ever worry?" Andrea asked her as she opened another cabinet to see where the cups went.

"Over there," Lisbeth said, gesturing towards the right cabinet. Andrea nodded gratefully and put the cups away one by one, in order.

"I am more than worried," She then answered. "That's why I sometimes decide to go with him instead of just staying behind and wait for him to return."

That was what I should've done, gone with them. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to put Kirra and Nico in any unnecessary dangers, and I wouldn't even think about leaving them behind again. Plus if I'd come along I wouldn't have had some time to think about Daryl, like I had now. The question was, did I really _want _to think about him?

"What's it like?" Andrea's next question was as she leaned against the counter and faced Lisbeth.

"It's amazing," Lisbeth started, looking up at us with a wondrous smile. "After the outbreak several towns were wiped out. All the survivors from there found each other and started over with the supplies they could find in a town that was abandoned by the previous inhabitants." She put the last bit of silverware in the sink and started cleaning those as she continued. "They found several farm animals alive in the barns, which was a miracle really, and started taking care of them. Now they produce everything in that little town, from meat, to milk, to sweaters from real wool."

Andrea smiled at the thought, a spark in her eyes as she imagined what the town must look like. I started imagining it as well, wondering what it would be like to live a normal life there. That thought resulted in me asking the most obvious question,

"Why don't you go and live there instead of having to walk the distance every time you need supplies?"

Her smile didn't leave her face as she looked up at me. "Our son." She simply stated. "He grew up here. We just couldn't leave all those memories behind."

That was something I could understand, even though I knew it was an irrational reason. It had been hard to leave the house behind when Sarah had suddenly disappeared and I had to get out of there with the kids. _I _hadn't had much time to overthink my decision, if I had I might not have gone after all. If I'd been alone, I'm sure I would've stayed. So yeah, I could understand the couple's reasoning quite well.

"Don't you worry about walkers?" I asked then, which was the reason I had had to leave my house behind.

"Dear," Lisbeth started with a light chuckle and a shake of her head. "There are so many things you have to worry about. Before the outbreak it was thieves, murderers, animals, diseases and natural disasters. We didn't worry too much about them, now did we? So why would we worry about this?"

That was something I hadn't expected, and so I couldn't help but stare at her for a second. Of course in a way she was right, there were so many things to worry about in life. But to talk about it so casually while living in the middle of the woods, was even more foreign to her than the mentioned town.

"I wish I could think like that." Andrea muttered. I didn't necessarily agree with her but I nodded anyway.

"You shouldn't." Lisbeth countered, pulling the plug out of the sink and letting the water drain away. She turned towards us with a serious look in her eyes and a slight frown on her face. "You have to look at it like you think is best." She continued, starting her explanation. "Robert and I are old, we've lived a life and we could die happy. You're young, you still have a life ahead of you. And that life must be preserved."

The smile returned, pushing the frown off her face. "It's not wrong to fear death," She said next. "It's the only way to stay alive."

That left both of us speechless, Kirra and Nico playing with the foam on the counter, oblivious to what was being said. Of course they were, their innocent minds would never think about death, or talk about death, like this. Nor should we, not in such a casual way.

"Now let's finish up here so we can get to work on other things." She said, breaking the sudden silence that had fallen over the kitchen and gesturing for us to get to work. The heavy atmosphere that had surrounded us just seconds ago evaporated and we felt the same safe and homely feeling as before while we cleaned everything up.

And as before, my thoughts wandered to the group in the woods, wondering if they were still safe.

* * *

Daryl's POV

God, was I happy Kaitlinn hadn't come along with us. Not because I didn't want her to be with me, in truth that was the only thing I really wanted. If she was I could at least keep an eye on her and make sure she was safe. I was glad anyway though, it gave me some time to think things through without her being everywhere I looked. The main question racing through my mind, was what I was supposed to do now.

I had wanted to apologize this morning, but I never got around to it. Even now, walking around the woods and actually having to watch out for any surprise attacks from walkers, or humans, I was trying to figure out a way to say sorry to her. Maybe if I got back I would be able to get her alone and we could talk things through. That wasn't something I often did though, 'talking things through' and so I had no idea how I would be able to start that 'talk'. I'd just have to see I guess.

The fact I could think while she wasn't here was just one of the few reasons I was glad she hadn't come along. That she was safe in the house, at least safer than out here, was another reason. I'd been worrying about her safety for the past few weeks and I was glad I finally didn't have to. That still wasn't the main reason though.

The town was.

I was standing behind the others, who were all staring at it as well. Zayn was next to me, Shane, T-Dog, Dale and Robert were in front of me. We'd had different paces while walking, but as we had arrived we all froze at the sight of the town.

It looked much like a normal town in the middle of the woods and I was fairly sure we were looking at the main road right now. There were several buildings, shops and houses to be precise, we could see and that was what was so remarkable about it. The buildings didn't seem damaged in any way. There was even a church sticking out from behind the buildings we could see, though I guessed the church bells had been silenced.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Robert asked with a sense of pride in his voice. Shane looked up at the man standing beside him, agreeing. Robert looked around the group, his eyes eventually landing on me, as if he were waiting for an answer. I didn't give him one, instead I asked a question.

"What exactly is this place?"

I wasn't what to think about what I was seeing. In a way it all looked perfect, but most 'perfect' things turned out to be anything but perfect later on.

He smiled at my question, glad he got the chance of explaining I guessed. He had overcome his distrust towards us during the short journey here, which, to be honest, made me respect him less than before. He was too quick in trusting us. Not that I could complain, he _had _helped us out and so maybe I should be glad about the fact he trusted us. But still I believed he'd done it too soon.

"A community." He replied, asking for my attention again. "A community that found each other after the outbreak. They help out those in need and protect them, like they do with each other."

It was a simple explanation, but it still sounded good, even in my ears.

"Why don't you go live here?" T-Dog asked suddenly, a glint in his eyes that told me he was interested in his surroundings as he looked around the town.

"Because we didn't want to leave our house behind." Robert explained calmly.

_How stupid_, I thought, stopping myself from snorting. This place surely was a lot safer than some old farmhouse in the woods. I didn't get to say it though as someone called out to Robert suddenly, waving at him and coming closer with a grin plastered on his face.

"Robert, my man. How are you doing?" A man in his fifties, at least I guessed he was around that age, asked opening his arms up for a hug. Robert smiled and hugged the guy quickly.

"I'm good, John. Thanks for asking."

"And the Misses?" John asked.

"Good," He said. "as always."

That made John chuckle. When he suddenly caught sight of us though he stopped, acting surprised, as if he hadn't seen us standing here before, which was close to impossible if you ask me. He raised his eyebrows as he inspected our group. "And who might these men be?" He asked, sounding slightly suspicious.

"They came to our house, needing help." Robert told him.

The man frowned, "I don't really like the looks of them much." He said, eyeing me in particular. "They look dangerous."

'I am' I wanted to say, not liking the way the guy was eyeing me. Robert was first though, stopping me from saying anything that probably would've provoked a fight. Not that I cared much, actually I was rather disappointed. Fighting was a great way to get my mind off of certain things..

"They had to survive out there, John." Robert said. "It's hard not to look dangerous after going through hell like that."

John inspected me once more before nodding, "I guess you're right." He said hesitantly. "Come on," he directed at the whole group this time. "Let's get you the help you need."

He couldn't know what kind of help we needed, he hadn't even asked us. As we walked towards the town however I noticed Robert explaining the situation to John in a hushed voice, John nodding at certain things the man said. The rest was too busy with taking in the town, probably not noticing the tiny details I did, like for example the woman peering out between the curtains suspiciously at the third house on my right.

That seemed to be an exception though, as I also noticed children playing freely in the yards, playing soccer or tag. Men and women we crossed on the street shot us curious glances and openly greeted Robert and John. Everyone knew everyone around here, and they didn't seem all too reluctant to get to know strangers either. I had to admit that it didn't just sound like a good place, it looked and felt like one as well. Not for me, I didn't handle people all too well and so I wouldn't like staying here at all, but for Kaitlinn and the kids….

The whole reason I was really glad Kaitlinn wasn't with us, was this.

What if she had come along, and seen all this. Would she have wanted to go back? Wouldn't she have rather stayed here with Kirra, Nico and Zayn? I knew she was set on finding Sarah, but that didn't mean this couldn't change her mind. What if she had come along, and had decided to stay? Leave me behind...

_What do you mean 'leave me behind'? _I asked myself_. How can she leave you if she doesn't even belong to you?_

That was a question I didn't know the answer to. But there was another question running through my mind to which I didn't even want to know the answer.

_What if she did?_


	39. Chapter 39

**_Author's note: I know I've taken some time now, sorry, but it's extra long and it has a little surprise 0;)._**

**_Special thanks to my reviewers: Scarlet Nyx and my guest reviewer._**

**_Ok I seriously hope you guys like this... if not please let me know why not... If you do PLEASE let me know so I can continue with peace of mind. _**

**_Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy._**

Chapter 39

Daryl's POV

The town turned out to be a lot bigger than first sight had suggested. The church, we had been able to see above the rooftops, turned out to in a whole other part of the town, behind an alignment of trees to be precise.

"Where are all the cars?" Zayn asked with a strong voice, one that didn't belong to the kid. John looked up at him and narrowed his eyes slightly, probably wondering what the kid was doing with us. He didn't ask any questions though, instead he answered.

"We dragged them off the streets, deciding we would be better off not using them." Zayn nodded as he listened to the answer and I had to admit it was pretty obvious now that I thought about it. It was true that I hadn't noticed any car around, but I'd believed that most of them had been taken while the original inhabitants fled. Guess not. I snorted softly, thinking of how the earth just needed a good old apocalypse to make people use less cars.

"The previous owners of the houses, farms and shops left everything like it is now." John explained further as we followed him through the streets. "Some of them left their cars, but most of them took them with them, and so it wasn't much work to clean the streets."

"Why did they suddenly leave?" Dale asked, looking around in interest.

"We don't know," John admitted honestly. "We think it's because they knew they weren't safe here in the woods."

This news made me narrow my eyes, "Then why do you believe you're safe now?" I asked.

He looked around over his shoulder, chuckling lightly, which slightly agitated me. "We have the best of the best when it comes to weapons. There was an armor shop in town, so we even have enough ammo. There's no way a deado like them will get very far."

He sounded so sure of himself and I almost believed him, but there was always a weakness in a defense, however strong the defense might be. It was just a matter of time these people were helped out of their dream.

"You been attacked before?" Shane asked, not really seeming interested in the town in itself, rather what answers it could bring.

"Yes," John answered softly. "Yes we have. Several times." He said louder this time. "We were able to shoot them down before they hurt anyone though."

"But you've lost people." It wasn't a question, more of a statement. Dale saw the crosses in the ground, lined with flowers. They were obviously graves of loved ones.

John nodded with a grave look on his face. "We have. They broke the rules, that didn't go too well for'em."

"What rules?" T-Dog asked next, the same thing I was wondering.

John looked at him this time, "Don't leave town on your own." He simply said.

But wasn't that exactly what Robert did every time he came here, and went back? Or was he an exception just because he didn't live in this town? I wasn't sure, and not interested enough to ask either. No one else seemed to notice the contradictory statement, I guess I was the only one then.

"Ah, here it is." John suddenly said, looking up at a shop on our right. It was a flower shop and truth was that I wondered what the hell we were doing here at first. Robert seemed to be satisfied with what he saw however, and so I guess we were at the right place after all.

We entered, the bell above the door jingling several times. There was a man behind the counter, who looked up with a welcoming smile as he heard us enter, much like normally would've happened.

"John!" The man said with a grin, "How good to see you. What can I help you with today?"

John smiled at the man, "Not me this time Ed, these gentlemen need help." He gestured towards us and the man's eyes shifted from one face to another.

"Hello there," he greeted with a polite nod. "Tell me what I can do."

Shane was the one to step forward, which wasn't something I minded much. I've learned that staying silent was a lot better than talking, most of the time at least. If it's not to keep the noise down, then it is to stay focused. When you're talking your focus lies somewhere else than what is happening around you, and focus was everything if you wanted to stay alive. Even in a flower shop.

"I'm afraid we have lost a part of our group. They're with about..." he paused a second, counting in his head. "five people, including two children."

The man's eyes widened and I knew instantly that the guy knew something. Shane hadn't noticed though, he was still talking, asking the guy if he could possibly help them, in any way.

Ed scanned Shane's appearance with narrowed eyes, his eyes darting to the rest of the group huddled together in the small shop.

"You can trust him, Ed." Robert said. "Just tell us what you know."

After sharing a quick glance with the man Ed nodded, facing Shane again.

"I've heard about a fairly large group. They had two kids with them." He said then.

Shane nodded, "That must be them." He said, trying his hardest to contain his enthusiasm but failing miserably. "Do you know where we can find them?"

Ed suddenly looked down at the counter, a frown on his face as he was thinking of what to say I guessed. Something had happened, obviously, the question was: what?

"I'm afraid there was an accident." Ed started slowly. It stayed silent, Shane staring at him with a face set in stone.

"What?"

"One of the kids," Ed said as he looked up again. "He got shot."

Carl. That was the only male kid that was with the other group. I heard a small gasp from my right as I wasn't the only one who realized this, Zayn's eyes were wide and he looked worried. I knew Carl had been his friend and I felt bad for the kid. On the other hand, something like this could've been expected. It sure as hell explained why Rick hadn't shown up at the highway.

"Is he-?" Dale asked, not able to finish his sentence.

The man behind the counter shook his head, "No, but he's not awake either. The brought him over to Hershel's farm."

I noticed John and Robert exchange a glance and wondered what it meant, I didn't get a chance to ask as Ed answered the unspoken question that hung in the air.

"He's a veterinarian," the man quickly explained as he saw our puzzled looks. "Closest that comes to a doctor around here."

Now _that_ sounded promising, I thought sarcastically. Except maybe for the fact that a 'vet' wasn't exactly what I would call a doctor.

_Shit_

* * *

"We have to get the hell moving!" Shane said in an urgent manner as we stood on the edge of town again. He was shifting his weight from one foot to another in frustration. I understood why he was frustrated. Apart from telling us the general direction Hershel's farm was in, which Robert said he'd point out again later, Ed told us nothing. He said that he had no idea in what condition Carl was, and that made Shane even more anxious to get there.

"Where to?" I asked him, eyebrows raised. I knew what the answer would probably be, but I needed to be sure.

Shane looked up at me, "What?" He asked incredulously. "You can't be fucking serious. We have to get the hell to that farm, of course!" He shouted, gesturing towards the woods.

"Shane, calm the hell down, man." T-Dog ushered but it was no use. Shane wasn't thinking straight anymore. I understood how he was feeling, I really did, I'd felt the same way with my brother, but this time it was different. We couldn't just go after them right now, we had to stay together and head back first. We were split up and we first had to retrieve the rest of the group.

"Why the fuck should I calm down?" He practically growled. "We know where to look for god's sake! We have to hurry!"

"That will make no difference for Carl's well-being, Shane." Dale started, trying to sound reasonable. "We have to get back to Andrea, Kaitlinn and the kids first."

"But it'll be dark by then!" He protested.

"Which means we'll go in the mornin'," I said irritated. I couldn't help myself, it was Shane, and even if I understood what he felt like I couldn't really make myself care for what he wanted.

He glared at me and then let his gaze trail over all our faces. Robert was looking rather sorry, Dale as well. Zayn had a frown on his face, the same he'd had ever since hearing about Carl. T-Dog was looking at Shane as if he was crazy for wanting to go now. John had left us to decide what we were going to do a few minutes ago, wishing us the best of luck with our onward journey.

"So, what? Y'all want to go back and head over there in the morning?" He asked, having calmed down more. His eyes were still shooting fire though, mostly my way.

"That's all we can do." Dale said. "We have to stick together from now on. Otherwise you see what happens."

Shane narrowed his eyes at those words. Robert sighed deeply and grabbed a bag of his, filled with food. He started walking back towards his house, probably realizing that if no action was taken now we would be standing here till nightfall. T-Dog also grabbed a bag as he followed after him, same as Dale. Shane just stood there, staring at them, and as I walked past him I couldn't help but send a quick glare of my own.

"Do you _now_ understand what Kaitlinn must've felt like with Zayn missin'?" I shot at him, seeing his eyes widen at my words. I felt a certain satisfaction come over me as I followed the rest, hearing Shane's hesitant footsteps behind me.

I thought to how Shane had actually wanted to leave the rest behind as we would just go look for Rick and the others. That probably was the worst and most selfish plan he had ever come up with. Not that I would've agreed to that if the rest had, never. I would've gone back by myself if necessary, there was absolutely no chance that I was going to leave Kaitlinn behind. Even if she didn't want me around anymore.

That was the moment I truly realized that I had to apologize to her. Because even if she was mad at me, wanted nothing to do with me or hated me, I could never do the same. I didn't want her to ignore me, or glare at me. I wanted it to be normal again between us, one way or the other.

I know it sounded pathetic. It sounded weak and sentimental. Daryl Dixon shouldn't care about some random girl like this. But that was exactly it. Kaitlinn wasn't some random girl, she was much more than that, and I didn't want to lose her because of some stupid kiss.

With that resolution I headed back to the house, back to where Kaitlinn was, back home.

* * *

Kaitlinn's POV

Doing the laundry was something that I had always liked to do. It might be the fabrics that pass through your fingers, all with a different feel to it, or maybe it was the silence that accompanied it. A silence where you could think and dream about things because the routine of folding didn't need your constant attention.

That last 'maybe' wasn't as comforting now as it normally was though, quite the opposite. The silence made my ears ring painfully and I wished for some kind of radio or CD player I could use. There was none however, so I had no choice but to stand in silence.

I sighed deeply, folding one of Robert's shirts, which Lisbeth had delivered to me about half an hour ago. She had lingered a bit, trying to get me to tell her what was wrong.

It was amazing how she was able to see there was something off with me, or maybe I wasn't hiding it as well as I liked to think, I wasn't completely sure.

I told her I was fine but the only thing I got in return was a raised eyebrow and a disapproving look my way.

"Don't lie to me." She had said sternly, as if she were a mother who had caught her teenage daughter lying about where she was going at night.

"What's wrong?" She had asked again.

I had sighed, putting the basket of dry clothes away and turning around to face her. "It's-" I started but she stopped me before I could finish.

"It's not nothing." She countered.

It was as if she could read minds and for a moment I was baffled. She sighed and looked me in the eye. "My dear, it's obvious something is bothering you. You can tell me what it is, I might even be able to help."

Her eyes seemed to pierce straight through my soul, they were caring, like a mother's. In that moment I saw that she wasn't going to leave until I told her the truth, or at least something that sounded like the truth. I wasn't in the mood to lie though, too tired, and so I soon found myself spilling the beans over what had happened between Daryl and me.

It had been bothering ever since it happened, and as I told her she nodded exactly at the right moments. It felt good to be able to confide in someone, someone who wouldn't immediately judge me, or Daryl.

As I finished she had a small frown on her face, indicating she was deep in thought. Eventually she smiled slightly, "Men are strange creatures," She eventually said. "You shouldn't hold that against them."

That had utterly confused me, and made me stare at her. I couldn't stop a chuckle from escaping though and soon understood that had been what she was aiming for. Her smile widened a little at my chuckle but soon her face returned to a serious look.

"You should ask him about what exactly happened for him to be mad." She started. "and if he believes you did something wrong, you should apologize."

I stared at her again, opening my mouth and closing it again. Eventually I was able to ask. "But," I started to protest. "What did I do?"

She seemed to understand my frustration and put a hand on my arm. "I don't know, dear. And maybe he doesn't know either. I only know that the both of you are obviously hurting under the current conditions, and you shouldn't be." She smiled. "Talk to him and try to work things out."

After those words she had turned around and left me alone again, not sure what to think. _He was hurting as well?_ I thought. _But, why?_

After that I'd turned back to work again, missing the loud laughter coming from Kirra and Nico, who had previously been helping Andrea out with the washing. Some time ago she had come up to me, asking if it was ok to bring the both of them to bed for an afternoon nap. I'd told her it was fine and left her to the task. Now I wished I'd told her no, however selfish it was of me.

I folded the last pair of pants and put them back into the first empty basket, together with the rest of the neatly folded clothes. My mom had taught me how to fold, preparing me for when I would be living alone. She would make me help her every time she did the laundry, but I had never really mind. She always sang along to the radio as she ironed carefully and handed me the clothes to fold. I loved to listen to my singing mom. Not because she was good, she wasn't in the least bit, but because of the feeling of safety it gave me, the feeling of home. God, what I wouldn't give to hear her voice now, singing along to some stupid song I hated.

I sighed again, taking a new basket with recently washed clothes and starting the folding process all over again.

I was standing in a small room, the washing room to be precise. The cabinets were filled with detergent, brooms, rubber gloves, buckets and even cat food. I hadn't seen a cat around though and wasn't really in the mood to ask about it either.

When I say a 'small' room I mean really small. From one wall to the other couldn't be more than three feet, six feet in length. There was a washer and a dryer in front of me, which I was using as a table at the moment, but they hadn't been used in quite some time if I were to guess from the looks of them.

To my left was an old broken down refrigerator and behind me was a bicycle. Don't ask me how it got in here, I didn't know, and truthfully, I didn't care either.

What I _did_ know however was that the steering wheel of the bicycle had poked me in the back several times now, and I was getting quite annoyed by it.

When Lisbeth had led me to the separate, small, building next to the house, I'd been curious. Now that I was working inside of it, I was annoyed. Add the fact the silence was driving me insane because my thoughts could wander, and you understand how agitated I was feeling right about now.

* * *

It was a sudden sound behind me, not loud and it didn't sound anything like the gurgling of a walker, but still it made me freeze mid-action.

I've watched several horror movies in my life, before all this, and I always cursed those people who called out 'hello?' when they heard something. Now though, I had the sudden urge to do the same. I was able to keep myself from doing so though, finishing folding the t-shirt I was holding slowly and straining to hear any other sounds. There were none.

Had I just imagined the sound then? I wondered, but I'd been damn sure I'd heard-

A louder noise this time made me spin around, throwing the shirt at whatever it was as an instinctive response. Not that it would've helped much if I was in any serious danger, but I left my weapon inside, thinking I wouldn't need it.

"So we're throwin' clothes at each other now?" Daryl asked with a cocked eyebrow looking just slightly amused as he took the shirt that I'd thrown over him in his hand.

_Well I'd rather tear'em off..._

I flushed at the thought and quickly turned around so he wouldn't see it.

"You scared me," I muttered quickly, taking a new piece of clothing and deciding that folding that was a lot better than turning around and facing him right now.

"Kaitlinn..." he started, sounding slightly frustrated with himself. I didn't turn around though, instead I tried to focus on getting the clothes neatly folded, which was hard considering he was standing so close in the small space.

Yes, I had decided to talk to him, and Lisbeth had told me I should, but she never specified when, or where or how. And right now wasn't the right time, ok?

_God I'm a coward,_ I thought, squeezing my eyes shut and leaning forward on the washing machine with my hands, trying to muster the fearless Kaitlinn that was able to fight walkers off.

"Kaitlinn" Daryl said again, wanting my attention. My name, coming from his mouth, sent a shiver down my spine that I couldn't control. To make sure he didn't notice though I decided to turn around and face him.

"What?" I asked, sounding more annoyed than I wanted to sound. I wasn't actually annoyed with him, just with myself for being so damn pathetic and scared.

"I think we need to talk." He said calmly, taking a step forward, which put him right in front of me, without breaking eye contact.

I wondered what the hell he was doing, taking that step forward, and was about to ask as his face was getting closer to mine. He stayed close like that a second before pulling back, the shirt now lying next to me on the washing machine.

I swallowed, trying to stop the butterflies and the blush that was slowly, but surely, creeping up on me. God I had wanted him to do something other than put away that damn shirt. It took me a while before I was sure I could look at him without immediately turning red.

"About what?" I choked out, my thoughts scrambled and out of order in such a way that it took me some time to get the words to leave my dry mouth.

He seemed to hesitate for a split second before his calm face returned. "About what happened." He then said, face set in stone and not just calm, but emotionless.

Was that how he felt about it? Did he not care at all? Did he not think about the kiss every minute of the day like I did? Why did that even bother me?

I felt myself getting annoyed again so I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm myself. "What is there to talk about?" I asked with forced calm and my eyes still closed.

He didn't respond and as I opened my eyes again, to see if he was still there, his eyes striked me. They were angry but even though that was the most prominent thing, it wasn't what caught my attention. He looked hurt, actually pained, and I couldn't help but wonder why.

"So you really don't think anythin' of it?" He asked with the same forced calm I must've had before. "You didn't feel anythin'?"

That question caught me off guard. What? _I_ didn't feel anything? I though he was the one who didn't-

But, considering how he was standing here now, his fists and jaw clenched and his eyes shooting fire, he seemed to have felt something. The question was what had he felt.

"What do you mean feel something?" I asked carefully, but controlled, hoping to get the answer I wanted.

He narrowed his eyes, "And then you call me an asshole, now _that_ is a word that is not goin' to cover what you-"

"Asshole?" I asked him with a hiss, cutting him off before he could finish, my anger flared. "Asshole?" I asked again. "I haven't thought of you as an asshole for some time now, at least before," I hesitated a second and then used airquotes at the next words. "'what happened' as you call it."

I was the one standing with my fists clenched now, getting more upset with every word I uttered but not being able to stop for some reason. It was as if a dam had been broken open and the words wouldn't stop flooding until my feelings leveled out.

"I actually started believing that you could be a nice guy, a good guy, and for some fucked up reason I _wanted_ to believe that. Then suddenly, after waking up in the middle of the night and being freaking nervous to even talk to you after what happened, you practically ooze hostility."

I was yelling now, pointing my finger at him. Somewhere in the back of my mind I registered the look of surprise crossing his face, but my mouth was working faster than my brains were.

"You were the one who started this whole affair of ignoring each other and acting like you don't care, not me. And now you dare to call _me_ the asshole?" I growled. "Fuck you Daryl, seriously. Fuck. You."

I wanted to walk out of here, leaving while I was still the one who had the last word, but his narrowed eyes kept me in place, suddenly feeling slightly exhausted after my rant.

"What do you mean _I_ started this?" He asked with a snide. "_I_ wasn't the one who acted like she was 'asleep' just so she didn't have to talk to me."

What!? He had known? But-

He noticed my look of surprise and smirked evilly. "Yeah Princess," He said in the same hostile voice as before. "I noticed that little act of yours."

I stared at him for a moment, mirroring his stare, and didn't know what to say. It took me a while to find my voice back, but when I did I dared to finally ask,

"Was that the reason you were...?"

I paused a second in the middle of my whisper, not sure how to phrase it.

"Like 'that'?"

Ok, the 'that' wasn't really clear, especially not because the only thing I did was gesture at him to try and clarify. He seemed to know what I meant though, his anger fading from his face instantly as he heard my soft, and pained, voice.

He nodded once, looking a bit ashamed of the fact but that soon disappeared again.

My heart was going at it with what felt like a million miles an hour. He hadn't been hostile towards me because he hadn't wanted the kiss to have happened, he had only seen me pretend to be asleep, which gave him the wrong impression. But if that were true, then...

"So, you didn't mind 'what happened'?"

This time he was the one to be caught off guard, his eyebrows shooting up as he stared at me in disbelief.

"What?" He asked in confusion.

I blushed again, turning around and muttering a 'nothing'. Maybe I should've just kept my mouth shut, I thought. The hope had started to form and was now pressing on me, wanting to crush me.

Suddenly I felt two hands on my hips, spinning me around quickly. A second later I found myself face to face with Daryl Dixon, who's eyes were burning a bright blue color straight into my soul.

He scanned my face as if he was searching for something, obviously not finding it as his eyes narrowed.

"You tellin' me that you..." He started, eyeing me closely. He didn't finish his sentence and I couldn't help myself.

"Didn't mind?" I finished for him, my breath on his face like his was on mine. He nodded almost unnoticably and I couldn't help the skipping of my heart as I dared to shake my head lightly. "No," I whispered softly, feeling his body close to mine and having to swallow before I could continue. "I didn't mind one bit."

I admitted it. Not only to myself, but to Daryl! I bit my lip as I waited for him to say something, anything. Instead though his eyes were still scanning my face, searching my soul.

He had me pressed up against the washing machine, his hands still lingering on my hips. I was leaned back slightly, in quite an uncomfortable position, but didn't dare move closer.

"I'm-" he started, his breath hitching in his throat. "I'm not very good with this..." he admitted, looking rather.. ashamed?

I had to focus hard on what he was saying, instead of the feel of his body against mine. I didn't quite understand what he meant though, he had been damn good at kissing and he probably was as good at other things. I couldn't let my mind trail though, he was waiting for me to say something.

"With what?" I asked in barely a whisper, my throat closing up at the butterflies in my stomach. His lips were so close, so very close, but he was saying something, something important. Something I had to listen to.

"With dealing with.." he paused, not sure how to go on and I saw it.

I didn't think. Much like I hadn't thought in the kitchen. Right then though I had thought to have made a big mistake, now that wasn't it.

I kissed him on impulse, my heart beating twice as fast at his sudden confession. He didn't have to finish his sentence to let me know what he meant.

When I had said goodbye this morning, I had never expected this turn of events. I'd never expected he would say this and most of all I hadn't expected to ever kiss Daryl again. But I sure as hell didn't mind.

As I leaned back again after a quick kiss his eyes were wide in surprise and wonder. "What-" he started but I interrupted him.

"It'll be fine." I told him with a reassuring smile. I probably wouldn't be as certain in a few minutes, but right now I was and that was enough. "We'll work something out." I continued. "We've been surviving walkers for months, we should be able to handle each other, no?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood just a bit.

He smiled smally, reaching up with his hand and stroking my hair back tenderly, making me shiver involuntarily. "I hope you're right." He whispered, "I didn't like our.." he hesitated. "Fight, much."

I chuckled softly, knowing what he meant. For a moment our eyes locked and then he leaned in, touching his lips lightly against mine and taking my breath away in the process.

I let him part my lips with his tongue, allowing him entrance once again. We intensified the kiss, my arms moving up around his neck automatically as I wanted to pull myself up, closer to him. He locked his arms around my lower back, pulling me in as our lips molded together in a perfect rhythm.

"Kaitlinn I-" Andrea's voice suddenly sounded as she came walking in on us. Her eyes widened the moment she saw the two of us locking lips and if I could've I would've backed away from Daryl as far as possible. I was however standing against the washing machine, which I couldn't walk through and Daryl didn't seem to be planning on backing away anytime soon. He actually didn't seem fazed at all by Andrea's sudden appearance.

"I- err- I'm sorry," Andrea stammered. "I should better..." she gestured back to the house and took a step backward.

"No, that's alright Andrea. What did you want to say?" I asked her quickly as I pulled my lips from Daryl's. It wasn't easy to focus on her as Daryl's breath was still on me, but I managed.

Andrea looked a little uncomfortable but then seemed to shrug it off. "Lisbeth asked me to ask you if you'd like to help make dinner..." She then said, eyeing us both.

"Sure," I replied. "I'll be right there!"

She nodded and then turned around awkwardly, quickly making her way back to the house and leaving us behind.

I took a deep breath before turning my head back to Daryl, who was watching me intently with his blue eyes that made another shiver run down my spine.

"I better get cooking," I told him. He didn't move for some time, but eventually he took a step back and I was free to go.

Before I left him though I turned back around, needing to know something.

"We're good again right?"

He nodded, an amused smile on his facr that made me smile and sigh in relief as I made my way back to the house as well. Cooking. I never thought I'd be doing that again anytime soon.

But let's be honest, today had turned out quite differently already, so why not add one more thing, or two.

* * *

**_Please review 'cause I need to know if it was ok or not... _**


	40. Chapter 40

**_Author's Note: _**

**_For: _**

**_MaddyMarie1212_**

**_Buckismith_**

**_Wrapmeindreams_**

**_Anon_**

**_ShadowHunter90_**

**_Thankyou so very much for all the reviews! I am so glad :) _**

**_I'm working on the ideas of how to continue in my head. I've got a few, but I keep forgetting my objective of the whole story... but it's just so much fun that I don't want to stop haha. I'm really busy with other things as well though, school mostly, but I'll keep updating asap!_**

**_Thanks for reading, hope you like it and review please ^.^_**

Chapter 40

Daryl's POV

I stared after her as she made her way back to the house, following Andrea's lead. I still couldn't quite grasp what exactly had just happened, my breathing slightly heavier than normal and my heart racing in my chest.

_We're good again right_?

Her words resounded in my head. She had looked tense, her eyebrows crunched up into a frown. When I had nodded she had visibly relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. That sigh made me feel better than I'd felt in some time, showing me that she had been having as hard a time as I had while we were 'fighting'. It was as if I had needed proof that I hadn't been the only one going insane.

_All a misunderstanding_, I thought while sighing and leaning back against the washing machine I'd been pushing her back against just moment's ago. _That's just fucked up._

I had to admit I was quite confused. I had decided to say sorry to her, and find a way to deal with the whole kissing thing _my_ way, by ignoring it. Not that _that_ would've worked, chances were high it wouldn't have, but I would've at least tried. I had never thought that my apologies, or what had meant to be my apologies, would end up in a kiss. Yet here I was, thinking of how it had stirred something inside of me, something I couldn't describe any other way than as longing. I longed to have her lips against mine again.

God, she'd felt good pressed so close against me. I swear I could still smell her now, a spicy kind of lavender scent that had filled my nostrils as she had been just inches away.

It had hurt to pull away, my whole body telling me not to break the contact with her. I didn't have much choice though, Andrea had suddenly interrupted us. Of course I wouldn't have minded to continue, Kaitlinn being the only thing I could focus on right then and Andrea would've left if we had just ignored her, but Kate wouldn't have liked that.

How I was able to know what Kaitlinn would and wouldn't have minded was a mystery to me. Most people I knew I didn't know well enough to be able to make a guess about things like that, even with the people I _did _know. What Merle would like and not like, well I had a general idea but that was about it. With Kaitlinn it was more, it was as if I knew exactly what she would do and not, until she would surprise me some way and disrupt my ideas about her. She had done that quite a lot already.

I sighed, thinking back to Kaitlinn's face when we got caught. She had looked genuinely surprised and slightly embarrassed by the situation. Andrea, in her turn, had looked quite mortified and surprised herself. There had also been a spark of resentment in her eyes though, just a glimpse. I had felt a certain annoyance as I noticed it, but had kept my mouth shut. Now I was wondering though. What would Andrea say to Kaitlinn? They were friends, for as far as I knew, and friends were supposed to talk about these kind of things, weren't they? If they did, what would she say? Would Kaitlinn ask for advice?

That thought wasn't comforting at all. Because what if Andrea gave the wrong advice? Advice that could ruin-

Ruin what? What the hell was it we shared? This 'thing', to which I actually had admitted I wasn't good at, what was it? What did Kaitlinn really mean to me? And why was she so important?

Maybe because she seemed to be able to understand me in ways no one ever seemed to do. Because she knows the exact right thing to say to make me chuckle, which not a lot of people are capable of. She sees when I'm struggling with something, and she tries to make me feel better. Like she had said before, about how we would work things out. I can't start expressing how badly I hoped for that to be true, like I hoped that I would find out what exactly I felt for her. Because even though I've experienced a lot in my life, love was never a part of it.

* * *

Kaitlinn's POV

My mind was still with Daryl, and the events that had happened before. I couldn't believe that our whole 'fight', or whatever you want to call it, was based on this. I felt stupid now, really stupid.

I had planned on heading straight towards the kitchen, ready to help Lisbeth with dinner. When I noticed Shane sitting on the couch in the living room though, his head in his hands, I couldn't just pass him and act like there was nothing wrong.

I took a few steps closer to him, waiting for the moment he would notice I was there. When he did he looked up and forced a smile. His eyes were filled with guilt, a guilt that was all too familiar with me and made my insides turn.

"What's wrong?" I asked him softly as I took place on the couch next to him.

"I screwed up." He simply answered, not elaborating.

I frowned, having no idea what he was talking about.

"What happened?" I asked. I couldn't help him as long as he wouldn't tell me what was wrong. Even if he did I might not be able to, but I would at least try. I hated seeing people suffer like this.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "There was a guy in town," He stared. My eyes widened at that, completely having forgotten they had even gone into town. Truth was I'd been too busy with Daryl, which made me feel slightly guilty now. How could I have forgotten they'd gone into town to get a lead on the others? "He had heard something about a group with two kids."

I felt my heart skip a beat and I held my breath, waiting for him to continue.

"What did he say?" I dared to ask finally, as Shane didn't continue his story.

He looked at me, sadness evident in his eyes. "Carl got shot."

I forgot how to breathe for a second. _What!?_

"He got shot." Shane repeated. I hadn't noticed I'd said the word out loud so it took me a second to realize that he had repeated it for me.

"Is he-" I took a deep breath and clenched my fists. "Dead?"

Shane shook his head, "No he isn't. But that doesn't change the fact that it's still my damn fault."

I swallowed, closing my eyes and taking deep and calm breaths. He wasn't dead, that was a good thing. It didn't sound like he was in any good condition either though.

I put a hand on his arm comfortingly. "It's not your fault Shane." I told him.

He shrugged my hand off, not in the mood to talk anymore I guessed. _Fine_, I thought, _then don't._

It was harsh to think like that, and I really felt bad for him, but it wasn't his fault. He wasn't the one who should be feeling guilty, that was me. If it hadn't been for me then none of this would've happened. Everyone would've still been together and Carl wouldn't have been shot.

I squeezed my eyes shut as I got up, wanting to swallow everything away but there was a lump in my throat which felt like the size of an apple. It hurt. I opened my eyes to see where I was going as I hurried towards the kitchen I noticed Daryl coming in. I caught his gaze and smiled, not slowing my pace because the guilt would suffocate me if I would stop right now. I have to have something to do to really get my mind off of things, and right now cooking sounded quite inviting.

* * *

"Ok, so spill."

I looked up at Andrea with an amused smile, spill? That was something a teenager said to her best friend after catching her talking to some guy at school. That was exactly how Andrea looked right now actually; a curious expression on her face.

"Spill what?" I asked her, acting like I didn't know what she was talking about.

We were outside, gathering everyone for dinner. After we finished helping Lisbeth cook dinner she'd asked us to call everyone to the table so we could eat. Until now we had found T-Dog, who had seemed to be lost in thought, sitting alone in the leather chair. Shane had been in his room, sulking, and Dale had been reading a magazine at the dinner table.

We had found Daryl outside, inspecting the woods surrounding the house. I'd thought I'd be as nervous to talk to him as I'd been the first time we kissed, but it was different now. "You coming? We're about to eat." I told him with a smile.

He looked up and nodded, "I'll be right there." He had said. I had nodded and returned to Andrea so we could get Robert and the kids. I caught her eyeing me closely as we were walking towards the barn where they supposedly were, according to Lisbeth at least. Now she was just glaring at me.

"You know very well what I'm talking about." She pointed out.

I bit my lip but couldn't stop the grin from spreading on my lips, like a high school girl who had kissed her crush for the first time.

She raised an eyebrow, "So? What happened?" She asked, stopping.

"Nothing special," I said, though it was a lie. "We just kissed."

"That is not 'nothing special'," She said. "And what I walked in on wasn't 'just' a kiss."

I smiled sheepishly and she chuckled. "You know, I thought you two were fighting..."

I frowned, "Was it that obvious?"

She shrugged, starting to walk again. "Well, you two were certainly acting different towards each other. You've been pretty close for the past few weeks. Why were you fighting?"

"A misunderstanding," I simply said, not really wanting to have to elaborate any more than that. She seemed to understand and nodded slowly. We stayed silent for the remaining walk to the barn, which wasn't far.

The barn seemed empty at first, but as I scanned it I saw Kirra hiding behind a stack of old wooden floor boards. She looked up from behind the hiding place and a wide grin spread on her face. "Kaitlinn! Andrea!" She called out. "Come and play hide and seek with us!"

"We can't Kirra, it's time for dinner."

She pouted as I said it and I chuckled, "Aren't you hungry?"

She thought about that for a second and then nodded, coming out from behind her hiding place and skipping towards me. Zayn and Nico also appeared from behind their hiding places, which were better than Kirra's I had to admit. "Where's Robert?" I asked Zayn, not seeing him around.

"I am here." Robert's voice said from behind us and we turned around at the sound of it. "And I already found you guys!" He said proudly to the kids. Kirra shook her head wildly, "That's unfair!" She said. "You're supposed to look for us!"

"But how can I look when you're not hiding?"

She didn't answer, instead decided to pout again. Robert chuckled at the face she made and then looked at me. "What did you need me for?" He asked. I smiled, "Dinner is ready. "

"Well in that case." He said. "I'm starving." He rubbed his stomach and Kirra laughed at the sight. He turned around and gestured for the children to follow him, marching towards the house like a soldier. He was good with kids and I guessed he had played with his son in the same ways.

Andrea and I followed behind them, more slowly. It was silent at first but I saw that she wanted to say something to me. "Kate," She started, sounding a bit uncertain of what to say and how to say it. "I don't know exactly what is going on with you and Daryl now," She continued. "I just want you to be careful. He's not-" She stopped there, not knowing how to finish that sentence.

I forced a smile at her, quickly looking away again. I didn't know exactly why but it hurt me that she was warning me for Daryl, as if he was dangerous. It wasn't like he was some cold blooded murderer! I knew though she only meant it well, and in a way she was right.

"I will." I told her softly, right before we entered the house. My worries were gone the moment I smelt the delicious home cooking of Lisbeth. It was time for dinner.

* * *

Dinner was delicious, even better than the one we'd had at the CDC. There was a small piece of chicken for everyone, which is something that is rare nowadays, baked potatoes for those who wanted any and actual vegetables! We were sitting around the dinner table, eating our hearts out. Well, most of us anyway.

Shane wasn't as enthusiastic when it came to the food. I guessed he was still feeling guilty and noticed him pushing the food around on his plate like a nine year old kid would. The only difference between him and a nine year old kid right now, was that Kirra was actually eating.

We stayed quiet throughout the meal. We weren't really in the mood to talk about trivial things after the news of Carl. We were all worried and couldn't just act like there was nothing wrong. Lisbeth and her husband seemed to understand this and stayed silent out of respect. When we were all done with eating though it had been silent long enough.

"I hope y'all liked it." Lisbeth said with a smile in our direction.

We all smiled back, "It was delicious." I told her. She shot us a thankful glance as the rest nodded and agreed.

"Good, now I hope you like strawberries." She said with a grin of her own, walking into the kitchen and coming out with a bowl of strawberries for dessert.

Kirra's eyes went wide as she saw them, she always had loved strawberries. Me too, and it had been ages for any of us to taste the sweetness of one.

I put a bunch on the kids' plates and on my own. The rest did the same for themselves and we all dug in. I savored the taste of each one I put in my mouth, loving the taste of normality, because that was what it felt like. Even after the news of Carl, this felt safe and comforting.

I looked around the table and saw that everyone was enjoying the strawberries, even Shane seemed to be able to forget about his guilt for a few minutes. When the bowl was empty however, and the taste left his mouth, his face turned dark again.

"Shane," I said, frowning slightly as I saw him look up at me, an unreadable expression on his face. "Are you feeling ok?" I asked.

The table grew silent, conversations having started up after the strawberries had been put on the table died down. They were all looking at Shane now, but he didn't notice them. The only thing he did was narrow his eyes at me. "What do you think?" He asked, ticked off by my question. "We've found out where the hell the rest is, that Carl is wounded and that they're not even that far out. And what are we doing? We're sitting here, calmly finishing our meal and talking. We should already be heading their fucking way!"

Lisbeth shook her head at what he said, a sorry look in her eyes. "Dear," She said. "You would've been out there in the dark! That is no way-"

Shane shot her a glare and rudely interrupted her. "This has nothing to do with you." He snapped, "This is between us."

"Shane!" Andrea exclaimed, shocked by the way Shane had talked to our hostess. I didn't like it much either, and my dislike grew as he shot Andrea a glare next.

"I know you're feeling guilty Shane, and I know you want to find them." I started, getting a foul look my way. "We want to find them just as much as you do."

He scoffed, interrupting _me_ this time. "Sure you do." He said sarcastically and then shook his head. "I think you're happy enough with those three around you," he indicated Zayn, Nico and Kirra, who were watching him with wide eyes. "You don't give a damn about the others."

I shot up on my feet, pushing my chair back with the sudden movement I couldn't control. I was glaring at Shane murderously, not being able to believe he had actually just said that. "I do give a damn!" I yelled at him. "I care about them too, you know!"

Shane also shot up from his chair, a growl escaping his lips. "Then why the fuck aren't you feeling guilty? You're the whole fucking reason we split up in the first place!"

Suddenly he realized what he had said, his eyes widening. He probably hadn't meant it the way he'd said it, but it still felt like a blow to my chest, knocking the air out of my lungs. I didn't know what the others were thinking right now. Maybe they were mad at Shane for saying such a thing, or maybe they were thinking about how he was right. The guilt I'd felt before, the one I'd been able to push away while helping Lisbeth, almost doubled me over either way. I had to support myself with the table to make sure I wouldn't fall over.

_He is right, _my inner voice told me, _It's all your fault. If Carl dies it'll-_

I squeezed my eyes shut, suddenly noticing the silence hovering over the table. I felt a hand cover mine in, what I guessed was, an attempt to comfort me. I looked down and noticed that it was Daryl's. We locked eyes for a second and I saw the worry in them. I also noticed him shooting Shane a look that would've killed him if possible, which right now I wouldn't have minded. It was unfair though. It wasn't his fault, it never had been, it was all mine.

"You know what?" I asked Shane, looking back up at him. My voice was softer than I had thought it would be, making me sound vulnerable. "You're right."

I turned around and faced Lisbeth with a forced smile. "Excuse me" I said and then left the dinner table and headed upstairs, leaving the others behind in a deafening silence.

I felt bad for Lisbeth, for ruining her dinner, I really did. I just couldn't face the rest as they all knew it was my fault. If I hadn't been there, Kirra wouldn't have and so she would've never gotten lost. If I had stayed with Kirra, she wouldn't have gotten lost. If I-

I stopped myself from thinking anything else, knowing it would all end in the same conclusion. That it was my fault.

I walked into the bedroom I'd slept in last night and sat on the side of the bed.

"You always seem to be able to get into trouble huh?" I asked myself, like my brother once had when he picked me up from school after I had gotten into a fight with another student. I'd answered with a sheepish grin that time, being just a bit proud at the black eye I'd gotten. Now I couldn't bring myself to grin, it was all too real.


	41. Chapter 41

_**Author's note: Hey everyone, **_

_**So I know it's taking some time between chapters but I have school, school, school and school :/ Actually this Friday I have a math test and I am going to FAIL! But I'm fine because I have my writing world to escape from the test :) what would the teacher say if I wrote the next chapter on my test paper? haha, ok sorry I'm rambling on about non-important stuff right now. So here you have chapter 41! I really hope the story is still interesting for all of you! I have ideas of how to continue, the real problem is how I am going to connect them into a not all too unbelievable (yeah zombies are very believable) story... **_

_**Merle is going to come back soon, I have a perfect idea for him! Now the last problem I have is WHO IS GOING TO DIE? seriously, I don't know :( they can't all survive because that's.. well.. impossible. I'm asking you readers now, who do you absolutely want to survive? If no one answers the question I'm gonna have to choose myself... anywayss enough talking, Hope you enjoy this chapter!**_

Chapter 41

Daryl's POV

How many times do I have to _want_ Shane dead until he finally actually dies? Because once again I was on the verge of finding several ways to make this next breath, his last.

"What the fuck Shane?" Andrea asked him, sounding pissed. "That you're in a bad mood doesn't mean you have to get others to join you!" She said as she got up as well. He didn't answer, instead looked down at his plate. She cursed at him and quickly followed Kaitlinn up the stairs. I noticed the kids looking after her with frowns on their faces. They seemed to want to follow them and make sure Kate was alright, but Lisbeth stopped them.

"I think Kate needs some time alone with Andrea," she explained softly. "Why don't you guys go play with the doll house?"

Kirra seemed like she was about to protest but Zayn nodded and pulled his siblings along to the living room. His eyes showed that he liked the idea of leaving Kate alone right now as much as I did, namely not at all, but he was smart enough to know that right now they just had to leave the dinner table. Kaitlinn would be alright, she always was. I noticed Zayn sending Shane a glare right before leaving the room, which I was glad about. At least I wasn't the only one mad.

The moment the kids were out of earshot Lisbeth started cleaning the table, keeping quiet while working. Robert was watching his wife with a frown, as if he was expecting something to happen. It was silent at the dinner table now, the only sound being the stacking of plates and the jingling of silverware. It had been silent before as well, all of us absorbed in the delicious food, but now it was different. There was tension. Shane was avoiding looking at anyone.

When the dinner table was cleared, everything having been brought back to the kitchen, Lisbeth took place on her chair again, eyeing Shane carefully.

"Son," She started softly, making Shane look up. "I understand you are feeling bad for not going straight to where your friends are. But that doesn't mean you can go around and accuse other people of not caring." Her voice wasn't loud, but it had enough power to make Shane cringe back a bit at her words. "People are complex creatures; they do not always show what they are feeling." She continued. "Next time, be more considerate of that fact."

Shane nodded once, "Yes ma'am." He said, making Lisbeth nod once in satisfaction. She was about to say something else when footsteps could be heard again, coming down the stairs. When Andrea entered the room the first thing she did was shoot Shane a glare. I could see him hesitating before daring to ask.

"Is she alright?"

Andrea narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "She's fine." She replied. "Just tired. She's getting some sleep now."

Of course she was fine, it was Kaitlinn we were talking about here. She was stronger than most people I knew and someone like Shane wouldn't be able to get to her that easily. Lisbeth was right though, what appeared on the outside did not always have to be true on the inside. I knew the guilt that Shane was feeling was also coursing through Kate, maybe even worse, and that guilt wasn't easily dismissed.

I wanted to get up there and find a way to comfort her. Two things kept me from doing it however. First of all, Andrea had said Kate had been tired and was trying to sleep. Of course I wasn't sure if this was true or if it was just an excuse to be alone, but I didn't want to wake her if she really was asleep. Second, maybe going up there wasn't the 'etiquette' of what we 'shared'. How I was supposed to act around her was still a mystery, and I didn't want to make things awkward between us again by doing something that she didn't expect of me. That would surely get things going between us again, and I didn't want a repeat of last time.

* * *

The rest of that evening wasn't anything special. Andrea kept the kids busy until she brought them to bed, Shane talked to Robert about how to get to the veterinarian's farm and T-dog talked with Lisbeth about some other things.

I'd gone into the woods to see if there was anything threatening nearby, still not completely trusting the safety of a location in the middle of the woods. I guess that was also the reason I was still up at this hour. The clock had just struck three and I'd been awake to hear it.

It wasn't that I wasn't tired, I hadn't slept in days and it was getting to me, but I just couldn't fall asleep. Thoughts of my brother, Kaitlinn, the others, Shane, the kids, Jacksonville. They were all running through my head at the same time and it wasn't really helping me become calm enough to close my eyes and drift off.

I sighed, rubbing my eyes and leaning my elbows on my knees.

"Hey,"

My head snapped up at the sudden sound of a voice, Kaitlinn's voice to be exact.

She was standing at the bottom of the stairs, which I hadn't heard her come down from due to my lack of sleep, and was wearing a nightgown. I scanned her over and, even though the old thing with flowers on it looked hideous in itself, she looked damn sexy in it.

I half smiled, amusedly, trying to focus on how funny the thing in itself looked rather than how it looked on her.

"Hey." I responded.

"You sleeping on the couch again?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around herself.

I nodded, "Don't have much choice, now do I?" I countered jokingly. She frowned however, taking it more serious than I'd meant it.

"Of course you do, you could've swapped places with Shane, T-Dog, me or Andrea."

I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows at the thought of swapping places with Andrea. I had to admit I wouldn't have minded that. Andrea probably would've, but that wouldn't have been my main concern. My main concern would've been how to act normal while knowing I would be sleeping in the same bed as Kaitlinn.

"I'll be fine down here." I told her, quickly trying to dismiss my thoughts. She cocked her head to the side and shrugged, taking place next to me on the couch. I wondered what had woken her up, but guessed it must've been the fact she'd gone to bed early.

"You sleep well?" I asked her after a moment of silence.

She looked at me sideways and smiled, "Yeah, sort of."

That didn't sound all too convincing and I inspected her again. There were light bags under her eyes which made her look rather tired, she probably hadn't rested all that well at all. I frowned, "You should try and get some sleep." I said softly.

She chuckled humorlessly, not surprised that I'd noticed her exhaustion. "You should be doing the same, no?"

I shrugged, "Someone's gotta keep an eye out for walkers."

"You don't think we're safe here." It wasn't a question but I answered anyway, shaking my head.

"You're never really safe. Whenever you think you are-" I trailed off, knowing she would know what I was talking about. She was probably one of the few people in this world who could know, and I can't say I minded that she did.

She smiled sadly as I'd said it, "I know." She whispered, sounding rather regretful of that fact.

Silence fell over us again, but not an uncomfortable one. I _was_ however getting more and more aware of the fact that she was sitting quite close to me, and her legs were bare. I just had to reach out and we'd be touching, I could even kiss her again, get us to melt together once more.

"What was it like?" She suddenly asked, pulling me back to reality. I shifted my weight and sat back a bit, watching her. "The town?" She clarified as she thought I didn't understand her. I did though, better than anyone. What I also understood was that the town would be perfect for her and the kids.

"It was ok." I answered, not sure what I could and could not say.

She looked up at me skeptically, "Just ok?"

She saw right through me, she always did. I sighed and closed my eyes a second, deciding that I couldn't lie to her.

"It was somethin' I have never seen before in my life. People bundlin' their strengths to survive this hell, protectin' the weak and helpin' each other. They even live in a normal neighborhood." I commented, still amazed by the fact that was once so normal. "They don't use money, just coupons and everythin' they could possibly need…"

"Can be found there.." She finished for me in a whisper. I nodded. She sighed, a small smile playing on her lips. "Sounds amazing." She said.

I nodded, slightly reluctant to admit to it. She seemed confused for a second, not understanding my reluctance, but shrugged it off. "I hope Jacksonville will be like that." She told me as she pulled her legs up and leaned back against the couch, closing her eyes.

I watched her, her chest heaving with every breath she took. "I hope so too." I told her, honestly this time. She smiled slightly at my comment and I watched her slowly drift off into a calm and restful sleep, just inches away from me. And the only thing I could do, was watch.

* * *

Kaitlinn's POV

I woke up as Daryl shifted his weight. Of course first I didn't know it was Daryl at first, and I had completely forgotten I had gone downstairs before, but as I starting waking up the memories starting flooding back. I opened my eyes and waited until they were adjusted to my surroundings, after which I noticed someone sitting on my right. I looked up and smiled tiredly at him as he noticed I was awake.

"Why are you still up?" I asked him softly.

"You took up my bed." He said with an amused smile.

I blushed slightly but soon shook it off, he could've easily slept sitting up, like I apparently had.

"You really have to get some sleep." I instructed him but he didn't react as he was looking down at the couch again. "Daryl!" I said sternly and he looked up again, this time with an eyebrow raised.

"What?"

"You haven't slept in days!"

He had looked rather tired yesterday, even more so today, but still it didn't seem like he was planning on going to sleep anytime soon.

"Daryl..." I said, softer this time. I knew however that if he didn't want to sleep, for whatever reason he had, he wouldn't go to sleep and so I sighed in frustration.

It was silent for a while, the only sound being the clock that was ticking and a faint snoring coming from upstairs.

"I'm sorry," I said suddenly.

He looked up, surprised and confused. "For what?"

"Well," I started. "I haven't properly apologized for acting like I was asleep that night..." I said, biting my lip. Waking up on the couch had reminded me of that night, though I'd rather forget all about it, and I knew that I still had to say sorry at least.

The corner of his lip lifted a little but it couldn't exactly be called a smile just yet, "That's fine." He said. The silence returned again before he also apologized.

Now _that_ surprised me. Daryl wasn't exactly the kind of person to say sorry often, so if he said it it must be for a damn good reason. Not that I minded hearing it, but it left me speechless none the less.

"Why?" I asked next. "Why did you presume I didn't want-" I gestured at us, not sure how to describe it. He understood though and frowned as a result. I wasn't sure why I'd asked it. Maybe because us sitting together like this, talking, felt good. Maybe because I was just curious and this was as good a time as any, but it didn't matter why. I looked at him, waiting for an answer, and saw that he was thinking hard about it.

"Because," He started. "Because that was the only reason I could think of." He finally admitted, "To be honest, I still can't think of another reason for you to pretend to be asleep."

I blushed and sighed. When I was ready to answer I smiled up at him sheepishly, "It's stupid really." I said. "I was just too nervous. I didn't know how to act or what to say and so the easiest way out was-" I didn't finish, knowing I didn't have to. He was nodding already, understanding my rambling.

"What's different now?"

I looked him in the eye, "Everything." I said without hesitation, because that was truer than anything other answer would've been.

* * *

I woke up again the next morning, too early for anyone else to be up yet. Daryl had fallen asleep somewhere last night and was now in the same sitting position he'd been in earlier. I swear I could've watched him forever sitting like that, I might have if there wasn't a chance of me getting caught staring at him. Now _that _would be awkward.

I pushed myself off the couch as carefully as possible, making sure not to wake him. He hadn't slept in days and it was a miracle he was sleeping right now, I didn't want to ruin that by making noise. We'd talked about a few other, meaningless, things last night, until I fell asleep somewhere in the middle of an arbitrary conversation about pets. I guessed he must've closed his eyes himself a few minutes later.

I crept up the stairs, glad it didn't creak like the stairs at home always had done. It wasn't just Daryl I didn't want to wake up, the others weren't awake either and we'd all need our strengths later today. I entered my room in the most silent manner I could manage and noticed Andrea was still sleeping. I changed into the same clothes as I'd worn yesterday quickly and quietly.

After I was done changing I picked my bag off the floor and put everything I'd taken out back inside, knowing we would be leaving soon. I was right, as just moments after I was done packing I heard Shane slamming his door shut and running down the stairs. You'd think he'd at least try and be discreet with the noise he was making to wake us.

Andrea sighed and turned to face me, "We going back?" She asked with a yawn.

I nodded as I went for the door again, "I'm gonna wake the kids. See you downstairs." She shot me a quick smile and then I disappeared to the kids' room.

I prepared them for a long journey and sent them downstairs for breakfast. When they were gone I sat down on their bed and sighed. I was quite nervous about what was going to happen when we would arrive at the farm. Would they look at me with their accusations visible in their eyes? Would they blame me for what happened to Carl?

I swallowed the bile that formed in my throat at the thought of Carl dying because of me. I quickly pushed the thoughts away and decided it didn't matter what would happen. As long as Daryl and I were good, I think I could survive until we arrived in Jacksonville. _If_ we would ever arrive there that is.


	42. Chapter 42

_**Author's note:**_

_**Special thanks to shika93 for all the reviews! I really love reading reviews everyone so please do let me know what you think! Sorry if it's taking longer than you want me to update but I'm superbusy and so I don't always have time to write. This is chapter 42, as you probably know, and I shortened it a bit because I thought the end was good enough like this and it didn't need anything more. Next chapter might be very short, depends on how much I can add to the existing next chapter. I know how I want that to end, but I just have to think of how I'm gonna do it exactly. **_

_**So I hope you like this chapter, please do let me know! Thanks for reading, following, favoriting, and of course reviewing!**_

Chapter 42

Kaitlinn's POV

"Uhmm, guys..?"

T-Dog's hesitant voice distracted everyone from the task their attention had been directed at before.

Lisbeth had kindly offered us to take some lunch for 'on the road', as she called it, in case the journey would take us longer than anticipated. So as I'd been helping her pack our lunches Shane and Dale were talking to Robert about how to get to Hershel's farm. Andrea was keeping the kids busy and Daryl was outside, making a round through the nearby woods to see if there was anything out there that had to be avoided.

T-Dog had been the only one doing nothing, instead sitting quietly at the kitchen table. He'd been thinking hard about something, his scrunched up face said as much, and I had been wondering what about for some time now. I had decided to ask after finishing up with Lisbeth, but it turns out that he had already decided to tell us by himself.

"I've been thinking," He started as he noticed that we had all quieted down and were now listening to him. "About that town we went to yesterday."

I knew instantly what he was going to say and pressed my lips together in a tight line. He was fidgeting a bit, probably feeling uneasy at our stares. "I-" he tried but wasn't able to finish. Then he sighed and shook his head slightly, "I'm not coming with you to that farm."

It stayed silent for a moment, no one quite sure what to say to him.

"You're staying here?" Andrea asked him, sounding like she could hardly believe it. She didn't sound upset though, just surprised. I had to admit I wasn't sure what to feel either. He hadn't really been a real friend of mine, more someone who was just 'part of the group'. Of course it was sad to see someone go, but if he thought he would be better off here, who was I to stop him. He should do what he believes is best. Plus it was always better to see him leave to stay in this town than to see him die.

T-Dog nodded at Andrea's question, "Yeah." He said, more resolutely this time.

"But-" Dale tried to protest, T-Dog just shook his head.

"I've made up my mind guys." He said. "That place is ten times better than having to travel around every few days, uncertain of where you will end up." He explained. "It's a protected society, safe."

Andrea's frown deepened but I saw that she understood his reasoning. I noticed Dale sending her a careful glance as he obviously was thinking about what she would've chosen if she'd seen the town. At the sound of what Daryl had told me last night, Dale's glance and T-Dog's decision it was more than just a great place. I was glad we hadn't all gone there. If Andrea had gone there she might've decided to stay, and that is something that saddened me, more than T-Dog leaving, however harsh that might be.

I smiled at T-Dog and nodded. "If you're glad with your decision, we can't stop you. I wish you the best." I told him.

He seemed surprised at my statement but nodded anyway, grateful. Dale also nodded, now seeing that accepting it was all he could do. He got up from his chair at the kitchen table and, as T-Dog got up as well, hugged him with some pats on his back. "It's been great," He said. "I wish you a lot of good fortune in your life."

T-Dog thanked him and got a hug from Andrea next. Shane only nodded at him, obviously with his mind elsewhere. That pissed me off just a bit, even if he wanted to get back to the rest of the group as bad as he did, he could at least be more... whatever… at a leaving member of our current group.

T-Dog turned around to Robert and Lisbeth, who had taken place next to each other. "You have done a lot already, I know, but would you mind much if I stayed with you a few more nights? Until I can accompany you to town and stay there?"

Lisbeth, of course, smiled warmly. "We would be delighted if you would stay with us a little longer." She said and got up to give him a hug. I felt myself smile at the sight, noticing Kirra making her way to him as well.

"Are you leaving?" The little girl asked with wide puppy dog eyes. T-Dog bit his lip and nodded, "Yes, I've decided to stay."

Kirra nodded slowly and then gave him a hug, "Be careful." She said softly and then went back to Zayn and Nico, who had been watching the whole ordeal unfold. T-Dog stared after the girl, a slight chuckle escaping his lips.

Suddenly the front door opened and Daryl walked in, his crossbow in hand. "There's nothin' out there. We can go now if y'all wanna."

We all shared glances but Shane, naturally, was the one to decide.

"If we leave now we should get there by sundown." He told us, not really waiting for an answer. "Thank you for letting us stay here." He directed at Lisbeth and Robert stiffly, still somewhere else with his thoughts. Lisbeth nodded and Robert grunted something I didn't quite catch. I narrowed my eyes at Shane's attitude, but he didn't notice.

Dale was the next to thank them, Andrea as well followed by the kids and even Daryl thanked them. I was last, walking up to Lisbeth and giving her a hug.

"Thank you so much for everything." I whispered. She smiled warmly, "You're very welcome dear. Be safe now."

I nodded, grabbing the packed lunches and putting them in my bag. When I got them all in I headed outside over to the rest who were already outside. Lisbeth and Robert followed, telling us their final goodbyes. Shane was getting impatient however and soon we were leaving the couple, and the house, behind, heading East towards Hershel's farm.

* * *

Nico and Zayn were walking in front of me, so I could keep an eye on them, and Kirra was walking beside me on my right, Daryl was on my left. He had a slight frown on his face and I knew that he had something on his mind. I waited patiently for him to ask whatever was bothering him, which didn't take long.

"So T-Dog decided to stay." He said, it wasn't really a question I admit, but close enough.

I nodded, pulling Kirra along. We were walking fast and I didn't quite like the pace. Kirra would never be able to keep this up for long, Shane wasn't thinking straight anymore. Not that I could blame him, I'd do the exact same thing in his situation, but still.

"I guess he liked the town. Thought it was a good place to live."

We both knew that that wasn't what I really wanted to say. With the kids around though, saying 'a good place to die' wasn't the smartest thing. I wanted them to have hope of a better life. I wanted them to believe things could be alright again, even if everything had gone to shit. Hope can do wonders sometimes, especially when you're young and still hopeful.

* * *

Daryl's POV

The journey to the farm was tiring, at least for some. Shane was running on pure adrenaline now, wanting nothing more but to get there, and so he wouldn't be tired anytime soon. Andrea was obviously sweating and breathing heavily, walking next to Dale who was also getting slower every step he took. The kids were doing their best to keep up, but Kaitlinn had had to pick Kirra up eventually because she was in pain. It was amazing how Kate didn't seem to be tired even the slightest bit. Kirra had fallen asleep in her arms, her legs wrapped around Kate just above her waist and her arms around her neck. She looked peaceful like that. Zayn and Nico were walking a few feet in front of us, keeping up quite well. They looked tired, sure, but they didn't complain.

I decided we would have to stop soon, take a break, or there would be injuries. Plus I was pretty sure Kate was just pretending not to be tired for the benefit of everyone else, that was just who she was.

"Let's take a break y'all." I said loud enough for everyone to hear. They didn't hesitate, Andrea instantly sitting down and grabbing the water bottle from her bag which Lisbeth had given everyone. Kaitlinn put Kirra down carefully and took two candy bars from her bag which she handed to Nico and Zayn. Shane looked back at us with a frown, "We're almost there people," he said. "Why do we have to stop?"

"Because we're tired." Andrea shot at him, a little annoyed.

"There is enough time to be tired after we find the damn farm." Shane countered, as annoyed.

"Shane, we're not all as athletic as you are, ok?" Kaitlinn told him with a slight mocking tone in her voice that made my mouth twitch. Shane didn't seem to notice though and his frown deepened.

"Fine," he said with a sigh. "But hurry up with your resting."

Kaitlinn rolled her eyes at that and the moment she found that I had noticed the tone she grinned at me.

I took a look around, scanning the area for any walkers or signs that we were going in circles. I knew that in the woods the chances of going around in circles were big, so I'd been keeping a special eye out for any landmarks that I would recognize if we passed them again. Until now I'd recognized nothing, which meant we were good. I sat down next to Kaitlinn, my crossbow ready in case it was needed.

About ten minutes into the break Andrea got up and started walking away from the group. When Dale stopped her by grabbing her leg she looked up, confused and slightly annoyed.

"What?" She asked curtly.

"Where are you going?"

She narrowed her eyes, "I'm going to take a piss. Care to join me?" She shot at him in irritation. Dale let go of her reluctantly, not answering, and she stalked away towards a nearby bush. I noticed how Kaitlinn looked after her, frowning. She soon focused back on Kirra though, who was now lying against her shoulder.

Suddenly a scream resonated through the area. I was up on my feet in less than a second and hurried towards where the sound had come from. I found Andrea, a walker hovering over her, snapping his jaws shut right in front of her face. I quickly aimed and shot straight through the things head. Kaitlinn hurried past me as the walker slumped on top of Andrea, who pushed it off with a disgusted look on her face.

"Andrea!" Kaitlinn said as she kneeled down beside her. "Are you ok? Did he get you anywhere?"

Andrea shook her head vigorously, shaking all over. Kaitlinn pulled her in for a hug until she calmed down a bit more. As she got to her feet Dale came our way, his eyes wide with fear.

"Are you ok?" He asked Andrea quickly, she just nodded. He sighed in relief and took the care for her over from Kaitlinn, who had a worried look on her face.

"I don't like it here." She said as she came standing next to me.

I nodded, "Then let's get the hell out of these woods."

We locked eyes and she nodded, break time was over.

* * *

Not long after the event, while we were continuing our journey again, we came across a yellow tent which I guessed used to belong to a group of campers, or just one. Just a few feet away from the tent there was a walker hanging down from a tree, a rope around his neck. His legs were only bone, all the flesh having been eaten off. Zayn pulled both his siblings back and kept them there, at a safe distance from the thing. Dale and Andrea both took a few steps forward to inspect it and Shane, well Shane was just being his old impatient self, grunting some things about how we had to move on.

"What the hell?" I muttered as I took a few steps closer and examined the walker instead of listening to Shane's grunting. I noticed a note pinned to the tree trunk.

"What does it say?" Kaitlinn asked, coming to stand next to me.

"Got bit, fever hit, world gone to shit, might as well quit." I read aloud.

"Dumbass didn't know enough to shoot himself in the head." I said, unable to believe how stupid some people could be. "Turned himself into a big swingin' piece of bait. And a mess."

"You alright?" I heard Dale ask. I turned around and saw him leaning over Andrea, patting her back to try and comfort the woman. Andrea groaned, "Trying not to puke." she replied.

"Why is he struggling like that?" Kirra's small voice asked. I looked at Kaitlinn for permission to freely speak and she smiled to grant me that permission.

"I guess it's the closest he's been to food since he turned." I answered Kirra's question. "Look at him," I continued, lowering my voice a bit so only Kate could hear. "Hangin' up there like a big piñata."

Kaitlinn looked up at me with her eyebrows raised, but soon a smile formed on her face and a chuckle escaped her lips, despite the horrible sight in front of us.

"What happened to his legs?" Zayn was next to ask.

"The other geeks probably came and ate all the flesh off his legs." I answered, thinking of how those sons of bitches would eat each other, which was completely sick if you ask me. Surviving is one thing, turning to cannibalism was something entirely different.

I heard Andrea puke behind me, Dale still trying to comfort her. Kaitlinn looked back at her with a frown, worried.

"Let's get moving people." Shane said suddenly, gesturing in the direction we had been heading before. Andrea nodded, wiping her mouth and walking away from the walker. Dale followed her, taking the kids with him.

I was about to do the same but Kaitlinn wouldn't move, she looked up at the thing with the same frown still on her face. I found myself wishing she wouldn't frown so much, I liked her smile a lot more.

"Aren't we gonna shoot it?" She asked me, sounding conflicted.

"He ain't hurtin' nobody." I said with a shrug. "Ain't gonna waste an arrow either."

She shook her head muttering something about how it wasn't right to leave the thing hanging like this.

"Why not?" I asked her, actually curious for the reasoning behind her words. "He made the choice. Let him hang" I shrugged.

"We're wasting time," Shane interrupted us, sounding annoyed. "Come on already!"

"Shut up." I snapped at him full force. "We'll be right there, ok?"

He narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, but he turned around and didn't say anything else, which was what I'd aimed for anyway.

I focused back on Kaitlinn again, who was still watching the walker. The thing was now reaching towards her with his hands, wanting her flesh more than anything in the world.

"The thing would be tryin' to eat you if it was walkin' around freely, so why the hell would you wanna save it?'

She looked up at my question, a sudden twinkle in her eyes. "An answer for an arrow?" She asked cunningly. "Fair?"

I inspected her face and found myself fascinated by her way of making me want to know exactly what she was thinking. She was smart, just one more thing I liked about her. I nodded.

She sighed, "It's not like it's their choice. It's the thing inside of them that wants to eat us, not the human part." She eyed me. "If you were hanging up there you would want someone to be merciful and kill you right?"

I looked at the thing and back at her. "Yeah," I admitted. "I would."

I aimed my crossbow at the walker's head and shot, the thing instantly slumping. The 'life', or whatever you wanted to call it, leaving him.

"You know what I'm missin'?" I asked her while watching the thing swinging slowly from one side to the other. She shook her head. "The candy."

She laughed out loud this time, shaking her head as she turned around to walk back to Shane and the others to continue our journey.


End file.
